Out of Punishment
by Yuki-Kyroche
Summary: To keep an eye on her cousin and attend NYU: that's why she was there. Not to put herself in danger, not to save the planet, and definitely not to babysit the War Criminal: Loki. Obviously something had gone horribly wrong… somewhere along the line. "I didn't sign up for this," Emily groaned. [Loki x OC, Pepperony] - First story in a trilogy.
1. Moving In

**Quick Author's Note:**

First and foremost I'd like to say that _I don't own the Marvel characters_. I won't post the disclaimer again.

Second, I have tried my damnedest to keep the Marvel characters IN character but since I am not the original creator they may not be portrayed perfectly. As for the way I've chosen to portray them/their desires/personalities: I am going off what is written about each character on Marvel Cinematic .com. Loki's a tad more complicated so I've been attempting to use a sort of middle ground between a few different ideas. I apologize if he doesn't seem to act the way you'd imagine.

Third: The only reason I actually found the will to write this is after being inspired by KMD88's story _Chasing the Storm_ and IronBell's story _Seven Years of Winter_. They are both phenomenally written and I recommend them to anyone who has yet to read them.

And fourth: after doing a little digging I discovered that the science in Thor (relating to anomalies) is apparently incorrect - so I chose to alter that to (hopefully) make it a tad more believable. Though I know little to nothing about science so some parts may still be a tad ridiculous. My apologizes.  
Chapters will be posted to my tumblr (link on profile) a day or two before here.

**This will be a trilogy**; as in _three separate stories_. No more, no less. All three stories will have their own individual plots/challenges to overcome but they will all share the same overall plot/goal: the development of Emily and Loki's relationship. **Out of Punishment** will focus on their meeting and Loki getting to the point where he tolerates her. **Out of Curiosity** will focus on the development of romantic feelings. **Out of Desire** will focus on their actual relationship.

My reasoning for this is that I, personally, feel that too many stories have relationships develop far too quickly. While they might seem logical to the readers - considering how long we sometimes have to wait between chapters - they aren't logical in terms of actual relationships. In addition to that, I feel that some writers forget major components to characters; especially those who are as stand-offish, judgmental, and complex as Loki. _I_ feel that he wouldn't fall in love as quickly as a lot of stories tend to have him so I want to try and to the character justice while portraying a realistic relationship. Since Loki's about 1000+ years old (ish), the small time frame (about 4 months) of **Out of Punishment** would be akin to the blink of an eye. It's ridiculous to believe that such a character would so quickly fall for any character - even more ridiculous it being a midgardian.

The point in saying this is so that **those who are hoping for a quick pairing fix won't be confused or upset by what they find**. Or, more importantly, don't find.

And, as someone who enjoys OC and canon pairings, I get incredibly depressed when an author introduces a new character but never gives the reader a chance to connect to their character or they neglect to explain what that character was like prior to being thrown into the absurdity of the story or plot. Character development can only happen once a character's "start" has been determined - you can't compare what they were like at the beginning versus the end if you don't see them before their journey. And there are times when writers forget to include how their other relationships began or work. Often times I, personally, have a hard time understanding _why_ I should care when said character suddenly finds themselves in danger. That said, I really tried to allow readers the chance to see what Emily is like before things change so drastically, to get attached and invested in her/her story, and show the way her relationships began, work, and change.

_**That said, I will NOT Be making any more Author's notes (at the start of chapters) unless absolutely necessary!**_

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Moving In_

* * *

"And he's shocked that we don't visit," Emily muttered, rather sarcastically, under her breath.

Stark Towers had been easy enough to spot, that was for sure. She hadn't even made it into the city before she noticed the glowing sign sitting high above the rest of the landscape. It was the first thing to break the clouds and the last thing she saw before her plane landed and the beautiful view of the sky was obstructed by terminals, travelers, and traffic. _Lots_ of traffic.

She had been aware of how hectic New York street traffic was prior to leaving home but she hadn't even considered the foot traffic. As soon as she left her plane and entered the airport itself, she was swept up in the throng of people and jostled every which way but the way she needed to go. By some miracle she escaped the building but quickly found herself lost. Out of breath she retreated to a coffee stand jammed into the corner and tried to regain her bearings: pulling out a crisp new map and untangling it only to stare blankly at the surface. The disorganized chaos of the streets, subway, and buildings was overwhelming.

She groaned and was about to call it quits when a sympathetic employee offered his help and pointed her in the right direction.

Three minutes later and she was hopelessly lost again.

She asked a passerby for assistance and was pointed in the right direction. Again. Only to get lost. Again. It took repeating the process a few dozen times before she finally came to a stop at the base of Stark Towers and allowed herself the feeling of relief. From the sky it was already huge and intimidating but from the ground it truly terrified her. It loomed overhead with its outlandish architecture and obnoxious sign, making her family's farm seem like a shack built of mud and twigs in comparison. Emily was pretty damn sure her entire family could comfortably live in the tower. Hell, her entire _state_ could.

_'Just how much room does one man need?'_ she scoffed to herself.

Everyone she had asked for directions referred to it as a beacon of progress and 'all that could be' but all she saw was a narcissistic man's display of power, wealth, and self-adoration. Though she might have just been bitter about giving up the comforts of home for a strange city with even stranger people.

Tony was, after all, her favorite cousin.

It was only because of his preference for the 'high life' that she was never able to spend much time with him. His Ironman suits, career, and status occupied most of his time; it was only through her mother's threats on his life that they ever heard from him, let alone saw him. Sometimes she wished Tony's father had never left home to pursue fame and fortune. Maybe then she wouldn't have been guilted into attending New York University. Maybe then she would have been allowed to stay put on the farm she loved: in the middle of Wisconsin, surrounded by her animals and books.

'_Nothing but the foolish desire of a disgruntled girl,_' she chided herself. Her uncle _had_ left home, he _had_ found his fortune, and she _had_ been shipped away. That was the truth of her past and nothing she did would change that. No matter how many times she shut her eyes and imagined a different outcome, a different life, when she opened them again she'd still be standing at the foot of Stark Towers, still dizzy from her flight, clutching her suitcase, and cursing that she'd managed to get accepted into New York University.

"This isn't about you, it's about family," she reminded herself before taking the first step toward the door.

* * *

"Pepper!"

Emily didn't give the older woman a chance to return the greeting before throwing her arms about her neck. "God it's good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, Emily," Pepper replied. She returned the hug before stepping back to a more favorable distance. "How was the flight?"

A groan was the only response she received.

"That bad?"

"To be fair the flight wasn't that terrible - thank you xanex - it was trying to make my way here that was the nightmare," Emily said, crossing her arms. "I didn't think walking would prove so _difficult_, but between the fucked up way the streets are laid out and the nice coating of muck clinging to the air… I should have simply agreed to the chauffeur you offered."

Pepper's lips turned up the slightest. Emily and Tony might be incredibly similar but the one thing Emily could do that Tony couldn't was admit when she had been wrong. It was rather refreshing.

"So, where is Tony? Don't tell me he forgot."

Pepper didn't get a chance to answer before Tony stepped out of the elevator, drink in hand, and sauntered over to Pepper's side.

"I didn't forget. You're here to sell Girl Scout Cookies, right?"

"Nope. I'm here to talk to you about donating your time-"

"I'll stop you right there," Tony smirked. "Same old Emily."

"You missed me and you know it."

"Like I miss living on a farm."

"Drama queen, you never had to live on a farm."

He winked before taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

"When you two are done, I'll show you where you'll be staying, Emily," Pepper interjected, before motioning towards the elevator.

"Right. Lead the way. Might as well _attempt_ to get used to the lavish lifestyle Tony enjoys." Emily winked at her cousin before picking up her things and trailing after Pepper.

As much as she would like to spend time with Tony, Emily was starting to feel a stagnant weight settle into her bones. For all her preparations - such as her xanex - the flight, more specifically her fear of heights, had still taken its toll and she wanted nothing more than to go lay down and pretend it had been a bad dream. Plus she couldn't shake the feeling that her clothes reeked of cheap perfume, most likely from the woman she'd had to sit next to on the plane, cigarette smoke, which was apparently a habit shared by 90% of the city, and a countless number of pollutants. God, how she missed the crisp, _cold_, air of Wisconsin.

'_I'm never setting foot outside this tower again,' _she mentally vowed.

Pepper was quiet on the ride up and Emily silently thanked her. Obviously Pepper hadn't forgotten how completely inept she was when it came to small talk. Though Emily was sure she'd have to put up with it when she came back down later on. Talking seemed to be Tony's favorite past-time: after creating Iron man suits that is.

"I hope you're able to find what you need," Pepper said, breaking the silence as they exited the elevator.

Emily just nodded.

"I made sure the movers included a bookcase and desk for you."

Pepper handed Emily a key when they came to a stand-still at the door to the room Emily could only assume was where she would be staying. As Pepper turned to let her unpack, Emily smiled, quickly offering a 'thanks, Pepper'.

She took a deep breath before throwing open the door and dragging her suitcase inside.

No matter how much Emily disliked the high-class lifestyle Tony lived she had to admit that there were some perks. The most noticeable being the ability to afford major renovations for guests. Like the one she was currently gawking at.

The last time she'd set foot in any guest room of Tony's she'd wrinkled her nose and spent the entire visit counting down the minutes till she was allowed to run home to the comfort of her own room. His guest room had had stark white walls, the only accent being a single black clock hung above the bed, with grey trim, and a white tiled floor. The bed frame and single dresser were the same wood with black finish, the duvet and pillows the same striking white as the walls. Admittedly the last time she had visited Tony was when she was too young to appreciate the consistency in colors but no matter what age she had been the memory always haunted her. The atmosphere had been tense, uninviting, and _hostile_.

Not this time.

Immediately Emily smiled. Compared to the rest of Tony's home her room stood out like a sore thumb. For starters the walls were covered by horizontal wood panels, though the fourth wall was nothing more than an extremely large window: divided strait down the center by a small section of wall. That center piece's purpose was to be the back to the fireplace and massive television.

Emily couldn't help but wonder how on earth the smoke was expelled from the room. Or how Tony had convinced Pepper that putting a television in her room was a good idea. It didn't take long to realize Emily preferred being in her room to being around people. Although she didn't watch much T.V., if any, that was about the only reason she ever left her room back home. Well, that and food.

Dark blue drapes framed the two windows and she smiled at the notion. She had always loved the look of drapes but her room back home didn't have a window with the capabilities to have them.

'_Guess Tony _does_ listen when I talk.'_

A king sized bed, on a wooden frame, sat in the far right corner with nightstands on either side, a cedar chest at its feet, and a wonderfully _expansive_ oriental rug sitting slightly off-kilter beneath. White sheets peeked out from under a dark blue paisley duvet.

'_How long did it take Pepper to find that?'_

An armoire was stationed a few feet from one of the nightstands, her dresser sharing the same wall as the door she was currently standing in, and a papasan was comfortably sitting in the corner between the two.

The left side of the room was a little more sparse. A single bookshelf was in the far left corner at a diagonal and a corner desk was in the remaining corner of the room. Undoubtably the door that was between her desk and bookshelf led to the bathroom. Of course, the room wouldn't be complete without the white couch, coffee table, and rug that took up the dead center of the room. Tony's idea, no doubt.

Admittedly a nice touch.

But Emily's absolute favorite part of the entire room was the collection of pictures, shipped over by her mother as a surprise, that decorated the walls and available surfaces. She loved everything about the room but it was the reminders of home that made her feel warm and relaxed. The matching wood was nice too.

Shaking herself out of her trance, realizing she'd been staring at the set up for longer than she'd ever care to admit, Emily dragged her suitcase to the bed and heaved it onto the duvet. Before she did anything else she wanted to get her things put away; especially since her mother had also managed to send all of her books without Emily knowing. The boxes were stacked half-hazardly next to the bookshelf and she felt excitement well up inside her chest.

"Clothes and uninteresting crap first," she muttered.

Easier said than done.

On more than one occasion Emily caught herself walking towards the bookshelf and she had to force herself to return to whatever mundane task she was supposed to be doing. But soon enough she'd put the last of her clothes away in its designated slot of her dresser. Effortlessly she shoved the suitcase under her bed and attacked the boxes of books.

She tore into the cardboard and pulled all the familiar books out. Soon enough she was surrounded by stacks upon stacks of books, from Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling to unknown writers with unknown subjects. Unlike the rest of her things she took her time putting the books away. Each time she picked one up she scanned the cover, reading the author's name and title, ran her hand over the words, and admired the image used, before gingerly opening the cover and letting the familiar scents pull dozens of memories to the forefront of her mind. Tony used to tease her for the compulsion to sniff old books but when she hit him over the head with _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ one Thanksgiving he stopped. Now he'd just shoot her a look. And she'd ignore it.

_That_ was why Tony was her favorite cousin. _That_ was the reason she wasn't actually pissed at being there. Even though she sure had acted like she was when her mother gave her the last hug and ushered her off to her plane that morning.

In their extended family Tony was the black sheep, the only one who genuinely enjoyed living in a big city surrounded by strangers, but in Emily's immediate family it was her. She wasn't as out-going as her parents, didn't spend her free time watching basic cable, and had an IQ that _towered_ over her siblings'. But she'd learned to pretend. She'd tag along with her parents from time to time, being sure to laugh and smile a lot, found ways to avoid watching sports without hurting anyone's feelings _too_ horribly, and took great care not to use big words. She even picked up swearing.

Tony was the reason she never forgot who she was.

Sure, he dragged her with him to more than one event when he came to visit, purposefully putting her in situations she hated, but he always made up for it later. He'd demand that she used a bigger vocabulary when talking to him, always brought her books about science, philosophy, bio-chemical engineering, countless other topics, and let her assist him on some of his projects. Most importantly he encouraged her love for science. Her love for _knowledge_.

She'd never tell him but he was the only reason she'd applied to NYU. It wasn't her first choice, it wasn't even her third, but she'd figured it couldn't hurt. Options were always the smart thing to do. And after everything that he went through last year the whole family was worried about him. He couldn't hide the subtle changes in the tone of his voice when he talked to Emily on the phone but he could avoid her pestering him to "spill it". More than once he'd hung up early simply to drive home that he wasn't about to confide in her. It was when her acceptance letter to NYU came in the mail that her mother decided to pitch the idea of Emily attending to keep an eye on Tony.

At first she'd thrown a fit. Trading the animals she loved, her close friends, and the safety of home for strangers, a concrete jungle, and an empty tower terrified her. But when the seriousness of Tony's situation sank in during one of their longer phone calls - his voice taking a tone he'd never had before but one she know far too well - she begrudgingly accepted. She didn't think it would be that bad: that it _could_ be.

Then she saw how tall Stark Towers was.

"What's a better time to work on a fear of heights than transitioning to a new college?" Emily snorted, putting her copy of _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ on the bookcase. No matter how much she wanted to go back home it was too late. Classes started in a month. Besides, she'd already informed the other schools she wouldn't be attending. That and, if her mother taking back her copy of the house key was any clue, she was effectively banned from changing her mind.

For as much as Emily loved her mom, there were times when she wondered if the woman's head was screwed on right. Such as prom night, when she tried to ground Emily from staying home and doing chores rather than attending. But now wasn't the time to think about it.

Exhaling, she shook her head to clear away the thoughts and home-sick feeling.

With all her books successfully put away, Emily got to her feet, placed the boxes inside one another, and tucked them under the desk. At first she thought about heading back downstairs to bug Tony but when she tugged off her plaid over-shirt she let out an involuntary cough. It was heavy with the smell of perfume, smoke, and sweat. Reluctantly she decided a bath would be the better option. Dealing with Tony could wait a little longer.

Emily tossed the shirt into her laundry basket before returning to the dresser to grab her sister's old yoga pants, her brother's discarded baggy t-shirt, and fluffy socks. Necessities in hand she glided into the bathroom and set to work on trying to figure out how the incredibly large soaking tub worked. It was beautiful, made from expensive porcelain no doubt, but subconsciously she missed the old shower back home. It was small, easy to use, and didn't make it next to impossible for her to leave and be productive.

And boy did it take her a while to find the desire to leave the warm confines of it's ceramic walls.

Once dressed and feeling jet-lagged, Emily returned to her room. She checked to make sure she hadn't missed anything and when everything finally seemed to be in order she took one look out her window and fought the urge to faint. Turning away she focused on keeping her breathing under control before slowly making her way to the drapes to close them.

'_Definitely need a quick nap,_' she mused. '_Tony can wait a little longer._'

Her decision final she shoved all thoughts regarding the height of the building out of her mind and clamored into bed. As she snuggled into the pillow the smell of lilacs filled her nose and she felt a warm ache in her chest.

"Smells like home," she whispered: already half-asleep.

* * *

When Emily woke, the room was pitch black and the only source of light to be seen was the sliver that squeezed under her door from the hallway. On reflex she reached for her phone that teetered on the edge of the nightstand, searching for the time. As soon as the screen lit up she scrunched her eyes closed and turned away.

The initial sting wore off and she carefully let them adjust to the sudden contrast before trying to read the flickering numbers again. '_10:52… seriously?' _She felt as though it had been a full week since she had fallen asleep. The reality that it had only been three hours at most was a little appalling.

"Guess the flight was worse than I thought," she grumbled.

A small sigh left her lips as she ran a hand through her dark brown hair. Only three hours of sleep and yet it was already on its way to the world's worst rat's nest. While she wasn't exactly happy that her internal time frame was drastically skewed, and that her hair was a fucking nightmare, she _was_ glad that she didn't have to open the drapes. It meant her fear of heights would remain unprovoked for a little while longer. Then the realization hit that she'd have to make her way to the light switch in a room she hadn't memorized the layout of.

Suddenly the couch didn't seem like such a nice touch…

By the time Emily walked through the door of Tony's recreation area she had managed to trip over her cedar chest, stub her toe on the edge of the couch, and even walked into her door frame when the light of the hallway momentarily blinded her. By sheer, dumb-luck she hadn't injured herself in the elevator. So when she limped through the door, her hand resting on her forehead, and plopped onto the couch Tony burst out laughing.

"Glad to know my pain amuses you," she muttered.

"In my defense, it _always_ amuses me."

She wrapped her fingers around the only book sitting on the end table but before she could chuck it at his head he offered her a drink.

"I'm only twent-"

"If you don't want it I'll drink it," he countered.

"Oh no, I want it." Emily let go of the book to take hold of the cup. She wasn't a big drinker since she wasn't old enough yet, but there were times when her father would allow her a sip or two from his glass. This was the first time she'd ever been offered her own and she was filled with a childish curiosity. Wondering how well she could hold her liquor yet afraid of the repercussions. A fear that she quickly squashed.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be back-handed by literature any time soon Tony grabbed the one he had poured for Pepper and settled in beside her on the second couch.

All of them fell into a welcomed silence. At least, until Tony couldn't bear not talking.

"So, you're going to New York University?" There was a touch of disgust in the way Tony said the name and Emily frowned.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" She questioned with a glare.

"Nothing, nothing."

"No, you were insinuating something." Regret seeped into her stomach and she wondered if it was too late to throw the book at him. "_You_ were the one who said I should apply."

"Did I?"

She caught the teasing tone and snorted. "You're a prick, Tony"

"'Prick'? That's not New York University worthy language."

Emily rolled her eyes, humor tugging at the corners of her lips. "You're a pretentious man who's a detriment to society's betterment."

"That's better."

She laughed before thoughtlessly taking a large swig of the drink Tony had handed her. As soon as the bronze colored liquid flowed over her tongue she was met with a burning sensation. Aghast she jerked the cup away.

"What the bloody fuck _is_ this?"

Humor, confusion, and betrayal flickered across Tony's features. "It's Whiskey."

Emily scrunched her nose and gave the glass a suspicious look. "Tastes like Uncle Vincent's attempt at making moonshine."

"Rude," Tony scoffed.

Although Pepper tried to fight the urge to laugh, Emily caught the small chuckle. She smiled. Pepper's laughter meant that she wasn't too upset at being stuck in the same room with the Stark cousins, which was a welcome relief considering how much Emily adored Pepper. The fact that Pepper had been working for Tony for years and hadn't quit was a miracle in itself but it was Pepper's infatuation with Tony that was the _unbelievable_ part. The part that Tony's entire family thanked every God ever known for and asked, _prayed_, that nothing would ruin the relationship. Or, to be more specific, that Tony wouldn't ruin the relationship. Though, if he did, Emily was confident half the family would offer to marry her just to keep her around.

'_Is it morally repugnant to pit all your hopes on a stranger?'_ Emily laughed at her own thoughts. '_Not when you're talking about Tony it isn't.'_

She didn't realize that she'd zoned out until Tony snapped his fingers in an attempt at reclaiming her attention. Noting the obvious irritation at not being the focus of the room etched on his face she laughed harder.

"Care to explain to the class what's so funny?" he grumbled.

"Your face."

He rolled his eyes. "Real mature."

"Alright, I've unpacked, given you a good laugh, and tried some of your putrid drink. I want to know how you're holding up after everything that happened." He opened his mouth and she cut him off. "Don't bullshit me, Tony."

"I've been fine. I _am _fine. Never been better, actually."

She knew him too well to fall for his facade.

"Liar."

He shifted in his seat. "You know, I don't really feel like talking about it." There was an air of anxiousness and memories being repressed surrounding the way he was sitting and the way his eyes kept flickering around, as if attempting to avoid certain truths, made it clear that something wasn't sitting right in his mind. In that instant any hatred she had for being shipped away slipped into oblivion and a heart-wrenching pity set in. So Emily just rolled her eyes before giving the drink a skeptical look. Effectively dropping the subject. But she vowed to herself that she'd do everything she could to ease his mind.

Ease it of _what_ she wasn't sure. '_Not yet_.'

"Tony, did you finish looking over the documents I gave you?"

As they talked about work, Emily settled into the couch and gave the drink another try; abandoning it on the end table when it burned her throat a second time. And when she heard Pepper chide Tony Emily laughed; deciding that all her worrying about fitting in had been pointless. Tony may not like sharing but he was a fairly inviting person. How she had managed to forget that was beyond her.

Eventually Tony and Pepper switched the topic to include Emily and the rest of the night passed by in a blur of pointless conversations, stupid jokes, and talk of her impending schooling. By the time she had felt the second wave of exhaustion drag her down she had a small tingling sensation in the back of her head. Wishing Pepper and Tony a good night she hobbled, her leg still hurting, to the elevator. Then to her room.

Between the slight tipsy feeling, due to Tony's insistence that she try a more fruity drink, and general tiredness Emily didn't even contemplate the fear she'd seen in her cousin's eyes when she'd asked him about his mental health. Nor did she remember just how high off the ground she truly was. All she could think of was sinking into her heavenly sheets, inhaling the lilac smell of home, and letting sleep take her once more.


	2. Speaking of Fears

**Chapter 2**

_Speaking of Fears_

* * *

When the morning sun began trickling in through the cracks in the drapes, Emily felt refreshed and back to her bubbly self. With only a _slight_ headache. On instinct she jumped out of bed and threw open the drapes, but as soon as her brain registered the drop to the cement below…

A blood curdling scream clawed its way out of her throat and she thrust herself backwards in terror. But she didn't stay there for long. Dressed in nothing but her baggy t-shirt and panties she grasped at the carpet in a frantic attempt to scurry away from the windows; only stopping when her spine crudely slammed into the coffee table and her backwards mobility was halted. Her heart _pounded_ against her ribs and she feared it would break the laws of physics: firing from its boney cage only to slam to the window she stared at with wide hazel eyes. Her breathing became more desperate as she sat against the coffee table but she couldn't process anything - other than her fear - let alone come up with a way to ease her mind.

That was where Tony found her.

He didn't think twice at how much the door to her room cost - he just blew it away. Rushing to her side he scanned the room to try and decipher what had caused the scream he'd heard. When he found no hoards of aliens, no unearthly-weapons, and no physical threats he relaxed. Turning to Emily he knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Emily! Emily!" Gently but with purpose he shook her and she snapped her gaze from the horizon to his concerned eyes.

Fear was in control and her mind was numb to everything else. She didn't even realize that he was standing there in a tank top, loose-fitting pants, and a prototype Iron Man hand. Signs that he'd been able to hear her from down in the depths of his workshop.

"What happened?" he prompted.

All she could manage was a shake of her head. Too busy trying to calm down her heart and regain control over her breathing to accurately explain her current position.

Tony took another look out the window before he sighed. "Right, the height thing."

When she nodded he ran a reassured hand through his hair.

"I-I," she stuttered. "I can't move."

Her words were barely audible.

Nothing more was said as Tony picked her up and headed for the hallway where Pepper was standing: concern etched into her soft features. Tony jerked his head towards the drapes as he scooted past her in an effort not to worsen Emily's panic attack. Quickly she walked in to close them.

Calmly, Tony sat Emily down on the floor in the hallway where there were no windows showcasing the height of the building. With a patience no one would ever associate with the infamous Tony Stark he waited for her to stop hyperventilating, for her body to stop shaking, and for life to come back to her eyes. He, rather awkwardly, sat down beside her and when Pepper came back into the hallway she did the same: though a tad more gracefully.

Even when her panic attack was over no one said a word. Tony just put an arm over her shoulders and she felt her muscles loosen before rubbing her face with the palms of her hands. A light pink beginning to appear on her cheeks.

"Christ," she muttered. "How did I manage to forget _that_ of all things?"

"Alcohol does that," Tony chuckled and Pepper shot him a look.

Emily managed a weak smile.

"Are you going to be okay, staying in the Tower?" Pepper asked, worry present in every word.

Emily just sighed.

"It's not too late to see about living in the dorms…" Pepper trailed off as Emily shook her head.

"I'll be fine. I just forgot is all," she tried to joke.

Pepper didn't say anything but Emily was sure she didn't buy it.

Tony cleared his throat. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. We should get Shwarma."

Emily appreciated the change of topic. If Pepper asked her about moving to the dorms once more she didn't think she'd be able to decline again.

Cautiously she pulled herself to her feet, making sure they were still functional, before throwing a smile and small 'yes' in Tony's direction. Even though she was wearing such 'risqué' attire she had no desire to go back inside that room. Not at the moment anyhow. She needed a little more time before she was willing to brave those drapes - those _windows_ - again. With a smile stretching ear to ear, Tony jumped up, wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, and - once Pepper had gotten up off the ground - they all headed for the elevator.

As they made their way to the floor where the kitchen was located, Tony asked Jarvis to place an order to the Shwarma place he'd grown to like and in twenty minutes the doorbell echoed throughout the tower. He sprinted off to claim their food while Pepper sat with Emily.

Moments later he returned; food in hand. Immediately he pulled the styrofoam containers out of the paper bag; offering Emily a confused look when she placed bowls filled with burrito ingredients on the table.

"Just in case the Shwarma you love so much tastes like Dad's attempt at meatloaf."

"Fair enough."

Emily plopped into the seat opposite Pepper and shot her an apologetic look when she noticed the look on her face. It wasn't Emily's idea of a balanced breakfast either but she figured it never hurt anyone to break the rules once in a while. Popping the top of the soda can Tony handed her she raised it up.

"To family!"

"To family!" Tony cheered.

They dug in and let silence claim the conversation while they focused on eating. Eventually the silence was broken but for once it wasn't Tony who broke it.

"Damn this is actually good," Emily said through a mouthful of Shwarma. She was hunched over the table trying to keep it from falling to the floor, or out of her mouth, with a look of pure shock that Tony had been right plastered all over her face. It was a look she didn't make very often.

Tony raised an eyebrow and she caught the 'I told you so' in his eyes but didn't throw a sarcastic retort back at him; she was too preoccupied with the food in front of her. And much to everyone's surprise, Emily managed to finish an entire burrito along with the Shwarma Tony'd handed her and _still_ get up to help put everything away.

As she put the beef in the fridge, laughing at something Pepper said, Tony grinned. It was as if everything that had happened that morning had been just a bad dream. In less than an hour he'd managed to get her smiling, laughing, and back to her usual self.

"You going to assist or just sit on your entitled ass?"

He opened his mouth to tease her but the look Pepper shot him made him reconsider. Quickly he got to his feet and began placing food in tupperware; avoiding Emily's triumphant gaze. Besting his cousin wasn't nearly as important as staying on Pepper's good side.

Luckily the clean up went by faster than he had imagined. Just as Emily put the last plate in the dishwasher he nudged her arm.

"Ten bucks says I can best you at Scrabble."

There was fire in her eyes when she replied. "I'll make you eat those words."

As fast as she could Emily sprinted to the cabinet he kept the board games in, grabbed Scrabble, and returned; slamming the box onto the table harder than she had meant to. It wasn't until everything was in place that she sat down and Tony offered her a drink. She took one look at it before snorting and handing it back.

"Yea. Fool me once and all that."

Tony offered her an innocent smile but he knew she could see through it. It had been worth a try though.

"My headache just passed, thank you very much, and I have no intentions of inviting it back."

"Worth a try," he shrugged.

Emily pushed the box filled with pieces towards him. "You still have a chance to save face and forfeit."

"That's my line," he replied, taking what he needed to start. And when he was ready he motioned to the board. "Ladies first."

"Age before beauty," Emily cooed.

A quick drink and he laid out his first word: S-T-A-R-K. Emily rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. She was too determined to beat him at all costs to be sidetracked by idle banter.

Forty minutes, and three games, later she had indeed made him eat his words.

"You mentioned something about 'besting' me earlier… Gee, how'd that work out for you?"

"I demand a-"

"Tony you have work to do." Pepper's voice interrupted his stubborn request for a rematch and he sighed. He could tell she wasn't about to let him weasel his way out of working.

Emily giggled. "It's okay, I'll kick your ass again later."

He snorted but got up and followed Pepper out of the room, leaving Emily to pick up. Not that she minded. He now owed her forty bucks and the game was an easy one to put away.

Soon enough she was standing outside the door to her room.

Cautiously she pushed the door open, holding her breath the entire time, only to let out a sigh when she noticed that the drapes were concealing the windows. Fears squashed she sprinted to her dresser to get dressed; opting to throw on her favorite pair of jeans and white T-shirt.

After pulling her hair into a high ponytail she took a quick peek in the bathroom mirror to check that there were no unseemly bumps. Content at her appearance she returned to her room only to dig through her backpack, which often doubled as her purse, and pull out her tattered and worn copy of _White Fang._ The splotch of ground-in dirt on the bottom of the cover reminded her of home and she paused to inhale the smell of the book. That familiar ache returned and she had to clench her jaw to keep from crying.

"Easy, Emily," she told herself. "It's going to take more than a day to feel at home."

Her thumb ran over the scarred surface as she flopped on the couch and found a comfortable position. The pages were tattered and the text was fading but they simply told the story of a thoroughly loved book. It was one she had had since she was too young to read on her own and it was one she swore she'd have in her hands the day she died.

Tenderly she opened to where she last left off and began reading; soon forgetting that she was in a strange city on a fancy couch miles away from the only home she had ever known.

* * *

For the next week Emily's days passed in a fairly uniform manner and there were no repeats of that first morning. She had learned quickly not to open the drapes so early and usually let Pepper - who had also seen about getting a replacement door as soon as physically possible - do it. And when they _were_ open she made sure not to stare directly out the windows. Or come within five feet of them.

Regardless of her fear of heights - and earlier panic attack - Emily spent most of her time holed up in her room reading the books her mom sent. Nearly all of them were the books she owned, plucked right off her neatly organized bookcases, but her mother had surprised her by including a few new ones.

Those were the ones she started with.

At first she'd groaned at the sight of _Animal Farm_, assuming her mother bought it solely because it had "farm" in the title, but once she started reading it she was hooked. It had been one of the books her classes never got around to reading back in high school and it had slipped her mind after graduation.

_Fahrenheit 451_on the other hand had her screaming and swearing at every page. It wasn't easy for a book-lover to read a book about burning books; she nearly threw it across the room at one point but stopped herself when she realized she'd ruin it. But when she'd finished it she'd shoved it into the back of her bookcase in the hopes that she'd never have to read it again.

She had to reread _White Fang_ afterwards to calm down.

The following day she managed to finish _Fever 1793, Lolita, _and _1984 _in one sitting. Deciding that, if her grandfather were still alive, he would have loved all three. Though he'd probably be more inclined to _Fever 1793_ than the other two; comparing himself and Emily to Matilda and Matilda's grandfather. Something Emily couldn't help but smile at. The relationships _were_ pretty similar. Besides, her grandfather had been flirting with just about every nurse at the hospital the year before he passed. Her imagined similarities were what made her store _Fever 1793_ with the other three books she cherished. Making it number four.

Emily took one look at _50 Shades of Grey_ before deciding that she had been too harsh in her judgments about book burning. Some books _deserved_ to burn. Luckily for the book, though, it was August and there was no reason to use the fireplace in her room. So she chose to just bury it in the depths of her underwear drawer.

Since she didn't have much else to do in the tower other than read she finished all the new books in no time and soon grew bored rereading ones she had already read so many times before. Thus, on occasion, she looted interesting ones from Tony's personal library. She was well aware that he had stored the books away from public consumption for a reason, going so far as to place them in their own room, but on a rather intense boredom streak she hacked the electronic security system. Which wasn't hard considering how well she knew Tony. Once she had made it in she figured she deserved some sort of prize. It completely snowballed out of control after the first book and there were days when she would brazenly take books without checking to see if the coast was clear. One particularly boring day she took books on five separate occasions.

He hadn't seemed to notice yet.

When she wasn't stealing books or reading she watched movies or called home to check in. Her phone calls were typically centered on how Tony was doing and if Pepper was still around, but she'd manage to squeeze information about her animals out of her mother and remind her that someone had to take Seeker for walks. 'He's getting fat,' she'd complain. Her mother would just laugh and agree to tell one of Emily's brothers to do it. Which she knew wouldn't happen.

As upbeat as Emily seemed to be the one thing she refused to do was leave the tower and no matter how many times Pepper asked she wouldn't change her mind. She was terrified of the height but the pollutions in the air outside were just as terrifying to her. So she'd just shake her head and politely decline. Unless Tony was the one asking, of course. In which case she'd snort and say 'the thought of choking on the exhaust and cigarette smoke of spiteful strangers might appeal to you but I rather prefer my lungs stay tucked away in my ribcage, thank you very much'. Or the shortened version; 'no way in hell'.

Either way he'd laugh and leave it at that.

Eventually Emily found herself running out of reading material. There were still books left in Tony's library she hadn't taken but she was sure that he'd notice if she took any more. He was already missing a good third of his bookcase. Besides, no matter how much she loved reading, if that was all there was to do, even she'd grow tired of it.

Back home she only read when she didn't have to go take care of the animals but here, in the tower, there were no such responsibilities. And she soon came to the conclusion that if she didn't find something else to do, and pronto, she'd go crazy. Originally she meant to ask Tony for some sort of pet - anything to give her something to do - but quickly decided against it when she remembered Tony's horrible tendency to undermine training. Such as the year her father presented to her an eight-week old Newfoundland puppy. To which Tony presented table scraps. Even to this day Seeker was notorious for begging and stealing food strait off the counter. Not to mention her brothers and father had decided that, if Tony could do it, they could too.

They were the reason she worried that, without her there to take him for walks, he'd be morbidly obese by the time she returned. A scary thought considering how hard it was for him to lose weight.

No, a dog or any sort of animal was definitely off the list of possibilities.

An idea for a new hobby was bestowed upon her that Friday before she could think of a different idea. Pepper had popped her head into Emily's room to inform her that Tony had to go to a few meetings and wouldn't be around much of the day. Pepper didn't have to include the part where she'd be accompanying him since Emily was well aware that, without Pepper's nagging, Tony would never show up.

After they'd left and the tower became eerily quite, Emily recalled the Iron Man suit's glove Tony had been wearing during her panic attack. Instantly she had an unearthly urge to see just what he was working on. And _how_ the suit worked. She hadn't been able to get her hands dirty in any sort of engineering project since Tony's last visit - some two years ago - and it was more than overdue.

Immediately she'd tossed her book on her bed and ran to the workshop; disregarding just how possessive he was over his stuff.

She groaned upon discovery of the lock but didn't let it deter her. She tampered with it for a few minutes only to let out a snort of disapproval before leaning against the wall and sliding to the floor in utter defeat. Unless Tony had his thumbprints laying around there was no way Emily was going to break in. Not in the short time Tony was gone, anyway.

'_Figures he'd program it with the one thing I can't hack… quickly,_' she snorted.

Even if she wanted to do her own work, her own project, all the equipment was on the other side of the door that stood high above her; mocking her. She just glared at it with her arms crossed.

Then it hit her.

"Hey Jarvis!" she cooed.

"Yes, Ma'am?" responded the program.

"Could you open the door for me?"

"I'm afraid not, Ma'am. Mr. Stark's orders."

She scowled before making a decision that would haunt Tony for the rest of his life: she went to find Jarvis' mainframe. In less than three hours she managed to both override Jarvis' programing _and_ implement a shut down feature only she could work. The override had been her original plan but after contemplating how long it would take Tony to fix things - not long at all - she opted for the shut down. She had no intentions of actually using it. It was just… blackmail against him and the program itself.

She _was_ related to Tony.

When the workshop door opened she screamed in giddy anticipation of something new but, before she got sucked into anything, she sprinted to her room to grab her favorite CD. When she returned to the workshop she bolted to the DVD player and popped it in. Music began pouring from the speakers and she cranked the stereo to a roaring level that made the room shake. Satisfied everything was in order she dove for the first thing she could tinker with.

And so it was in the middle of Tony's workshop that they found her. The stereo was blaring _Sold_ by John Michael Montgomery, tools were strewn across the tables and she was hunched over the shoulder piece of his newest suit model. After days of nothing to do with her time Emily was so enthralled in what she _was_ finally able to do that she didn't hear Tony yell at her over the music nor did she hear him storm over to her side. She did, however, feel his hand on her shoulder. Surprised she looked up but offered him a sweet grin.

"_What_ do you think you're doing?" Tony hissed.

Emily had known the moment she'd broken in that he'd be pissed but she just rolled her eyes. "Your sensors were all wrong. The way you had it set up the suit would be able to sense you but wouldn't be able to sense anything in its way."

Tony's face showed how badly he wanted to be angry at her but when she handed him the glove she'd already fixed, anger turned to intrigue. He rolled it over in his hands and took close looks at the improvements before snorting in approval.

"So," she muttered, fidgeting with the tool she was holding, "am I allowed to stay?"

"Only if you get out of my chair."

She laughed before hopping up and letting Tony take front seat.

"By the way, your suits look like giant Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup cans."

* * *

It took minimal begging on Emily's part to convince Tony to let her assist him the next day. She might have figured out how to improve the suit's feature but Tony was the one who did most of the work. Emily's job was to grab what he needed and stay out of trouble. Which was actually a lot to ask of her. As much as she was grateful to be allowed in the lab with him, she wasn't pleased about the lack of things for her to do, which meant that her mind kept wandering off and she was constantly fighting the urge to grab a piece of the armor, grab a chair, and actually _assist_ him. So she did the only thing she could to keep from getting kicked out: she rambled.

"Everyone missed you at the family reunion you know."

He heard her but didn't say anything.

"You might be obnoxious and self-serving but we still care," she muttered, more to herself than him. "Especially after what happened last year…"

Immediately he understood what she was trying to get at. "Millie-"

"_Don't you _dare_ 'Millie' me_," she snarled. That nickname was something that haunted her even in her nightmares and Tony knew it. The whole family knew it. And they knew not to use it in any circumstance. _He_ only used it when there was something he was trying to avoid. As much as she didn't want to see the look of panic and fear in her cousin's eyes again she knew it wasn't going to help to keep it locked inside.

"Look, we saw the footage - we saw you fly into that _hole_," she tried again. "Mom started crying, you know."

He stopped what he was doing and Emily held her breath. "I'd ask if they got my good side but I don't have a bad side."

His words sounded like Tony but the shaking in his voice gave him away. She scowled at the back of his head.

'_Dammit Tony, stop deflecting.'_ Emily sighed. Apparently this was going to be harder than she had originally thought. But she wasn't about to let it go. If she had to come to grips with her fear he had to come to grips with his.

"Tony-"

"I wasn't supposed to be a part of it but I was. And I did what I had to, okay?" His voice carried a hint of venom in it and she saw his arm tremble.

"Yea. Okay, Tony," she said, her voice was calm even though there was a storm raging in her head. But Emily was very in tune to the signs of a panic attack so she dropped the subject. Even _she_ knew that the last thing he needed was his cousin causing a break down.

There was silence between the two for a while as Tony went back to work, trying to forget what Emily had brought up, and she returned to pacing the lab. Eventually she laughed and hopped up on a vacant table.

"Remember that time you came to visit and we damn near blew up the barn?"

Tony gave her a mischievous grin before saying, "what do you mean 'we'?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tony, I was _five_. That was all you."

"You were a very manipulative five year old."

"If that's true than I worry about you being the CEO of a fortune 500 company," she teased. "To think that you were so easily _manipulated_ at the age of twenty-eight by your five year old cousin."

"Whatever happened to that tractor, anyhow?"

Emily snorted. "Dad had to take it out back and shoot it." Tony chuckled but Emily shook her head. "No, seriously. He had to _shoot it_. I mean, you _did_ try to modify it so it could challenge race cars. No one was confident enough to touch it seeing as you added a Nitrous Oxide tank…"

"I forgot about that," he smirked.

"You still owe us a new one, by the way."

"I thought I already paid for it?"

"Being nearly bludgeoned by my mother doesn't count."

He chuckled.

When silence took over the lab neither complained. Tony continued to work on his suit while Emily assisted as best as she could; doing her damnedest to keep out of trouble and avoid touchy topics.

"How's that thing you call a dog?"

"Seeker is just fine. He's fat but happy."

Tony grinned and she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I only had him for a day before you managed to ruin him."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"So you don't remember sneaking him a full turkey leg from under the table?"

"Who?"

She punched his arm. "Very funny Tony."

"I believe you were - _are_ - overreacting."

"No, I reacted exactly as I should have. _You_ started it," she paused. "My _brothers_ decided to finish it. I can only hope that mom makes them walk him while I'm here."

"It can't be that bad."

She snorted before leaning on his back and looking at the suit piece in his hand. "Tony, you don't know the half of it."

He gave her a skeptical look before letting it go and focusing on his suit. "Hand me," he waved towards the end of the table unable to find the word. When Emily grabbed the tool he nodded. "Yes, that."

And so the rest of their day was spent talking about childhood memories, failed experiments, and joking with one another. Tony even let her take the lead with the suit at one point but it didn't last long when she started giggling about chicken soup for the soul and how his suits were akin to chicken soup for the flesh. Which then led into a ridiculous ramble about the plausibility of a zombie apocalypse. By the time they parted for bed Tony had forgotten about Emily bringing up the alien invasion.

She hadn't.

* * *

**Author's note:**

So I usually wouldn't post chapters so damn quickly since I really want to give myself time to write them, edit them, and pace myself. But I had a shitty day and figured posting the second one would make me feel better.

I won't be posting anymore this week. And I'll be getting on a better schedule but for now… have chapter 2!


	3. The Pursuit of Knowledge

**Chapter 3**

_The Pursuit of Knowledge_

* * *

The next week went by just as quickly as the first, though Emily had more to do.

Most of her time was spent reading and assisting Tony but when he wasn't around she'd sneak into the lab and demand that Jarvis pull up all the information available about the Avengers. Usually she stayed as far away from "superheroes" and "super humans" as she possibly could - having no interest in the extremely abnormal side of Tony's life - but this time they offered a possible clue into her cousin's mental state. Something she couldn't just ignore. It hadn't taken long for Emily to realize just how little the public knew about the heroes but she didn't let that deter her for long. In a rather desperate moment she dug through Tony's files and stumbled upon the name _SHIELD_ in multiple documents. Curious, and it being her only lead, she dug a little more and tried to search public records for any mention of SHIELD only to come up with nothing. One move led to another and before she knew it she'd hacked SHIELD's database; taking extreme care not to leave a trace of her activity after she realized just how serious the information they dealt with was. She hoped that they would think it was just her cousin attempting to retrieve something: since she used the Tower's many features to do her digging. It seemed like something Tony would do. Yet, in the back of her mind, she understood how ridiculous that excuse was but she just couldn't rid herself of the desire to find out everything she possibly could about the Avengers.

For people dressed in such outlandish outfits no one seemed to know anything about them. Which made no sense.

Every time she was done she made sure to ask Jarvis to erase her searches; often having to threaten him with permanent shut-down. But he'd eventually oblige and, after a quick double check that they were truly erased, she'd sneak back to her room to read _White Fang_ or _Macbeth_ before Tony returned and caught her red-handed. When he headed for his lab she'd tag along, as if nothing had happened, for the lab made her feel safe.

Back home her safe place was the barn where she was surrounded by animals and earthy smells. The one place she could always count on being left alone since none of her siblings were as infatuated with farm life as she was. Without her animals around Tony's lab had become her safe place. Even when he was there doing something incredibly stupid, or banning her from assisting with his suit, she felt safe surrounded by the technology. She _did _have to intervene once or twice but it didn't affect her love for the therapeutic whirring of the machines. When she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing it sounded like the collective hum of her farm animals.

Although she still had a distrust of the air she managed to surprise everyone by accompanying Pepper on a few of her outings. 'There's this horrible toxic haze that clings to the air,' she'd complain. Pepper just took it light heartily - happy that Emily was going out at all. Which was more than she could say for Tony.

During their outings Emily engaged in chit-chat but the conversation usually had to be propelled by Pepper. Mainly due to Emily being clueless about what to talk about; with very few hobbies on Emily's part there wasn't much the two had in common. But the silences they would fall into were never awkward and often times the best part of the outing.

Working with Tony was fun. Listening to him drone on and on wasn't.

In the last week of August Emily finally accepted her fate and freely left the Tower of her own accord; meaning to get a better grasp on the layout of the city before she started classes. Finding the best coffee stands available and gaining a tolerance for the taste of the air were simply happy accidents. _Unfortunately_ for Emily her first solo outing was a disaster. She managed to get lost in the one part of the city that she couldn't see the Tower's bright sign and was forced to ask strangers how to get home. On more than one occasion she heard the 'damn tourist' a stranger muttered as they hastily walked away. For the sake of her sanity she chose to ignore them.

After that single time she was quick to learn the streets and distinct markings; laughing at the fact that Stark Towers didn't stand out enough from ground level to be useful. She had compared it to Tony at first: figuring that, without his wealth and influence, he'd be lost in the sea of average people. Just another brilliant mind vying for attention. Immediately she corrected herself. Tony was too outgoing and flamboyant to ever fade into a crowd. Money or no money.

Much to her family's dismay.

Overall, Emily opted to walk where she wanted to go, since it helped her commit the city's layout to memory, but there were times when she'd steal the keys to Tony's various cars and speed through the streets. Such trips were merely breaks from being cooped in the Tower for so long with very little to do. And they usually ended with Tony being irritated yet unable to stop her no matter what he tried. Such as placing the keys in rat traps or hiding them in his room. But after Pepper almost lost a finger reaching for one without looking he gave up.

For as annoyed as he was... Emily knew he was just glad she was going out at all. Not that he'd admit it should she ask.

By the end of August she'd memorized what she needed to memorize and even accompanied Pepper on all her errands: discovering a shared love for coffee, Shakespeare, and clothes shopping. Their frustrations with Tony had always been common ground. Ground they frequently discussed and laughed about; Emily gaining more than one embarrassing story to use against Tony.

As exciting as getting to know the city was, and spending time with Pepper, Emily spent most of her outings at the library in an attempt to learn more about what had happened the prior year - more importantly what happened to her cousin - via legal methods. _Too_ many times hacking into government files would raise suspicion. She dug through newspaper articles, first account recordings, and even went so far as to give a few sci-fi books a shot. But her digging turned up little to nothing. There just wasn't anything to be found about the Avengers. Odd considering they had saved an entire planet from an alien invasion. Creatures only ever found in myths or fantasy.

Finding nothing on the Avengers she turned her focus to finding out what had happened to Tony. At one point she asked the librarians if there was anything about panic attacks that didn't exist in psychology textbooks but the looks they gave her made her apologize and scurry away. She didn't hate psychology, it had its merits, but it didn't interest her. Biochemical engineering, electrical engineering... even physics was more her speed. Regardless of her interest it was all she had and her most successful research came from the psychology text books she begrudgingly turned to.

As fate would have it, she discovered how to confront Tony about his panic attacks _and_ how to cope with her own fears. Failing to find anything useful about the Avengers, though, she soon gave up on the library and settled into a routine in the Tower; helping Tony during the day, reading in her room or going out with Pepper while he was at meetings, and delving into her, slightly illegal, research in the middle of the night.

Everything she learned fascinated her.

There was more than enough information on Captain America that she felt she knew him a little more intimately than she would have liked. It was interesting to her to think about the situation he had found himself in and more than once Emily wondered what it felt like to be thrown into the middle of a technology-dependent society without any knowledge of that technology. But she always concluded that she'd never fully know, not without being in the same situation. Something she had no desire for. The thought of Tony working with Steve did puzzle her since they were polar opposites but as interesting as some of the information was she didn't spend much time thinking about what she had uncovered about Steve. For the most part he was just like the average person. With the added benefit of being able to take down a multitude of enemies.

Surprisingly to her she managed to understand more about her cousin than he'd ever tell her. So much that she decided, should she get caught, she'd have to thank SHIELD for their file on Tony.

The hulk was the only one she was able to pry information about out of Tony himself which made her giggle like a giddy fool. He tried to hide it but she knew he talked to Banner on occasion and she'd started referring to them as the 'science bros' after eavesdropping on a particularly dorky conversation between the two.

Natasha and Barton were the ones that confused her the most since there was very little she could dig up about either of them that was actually legible; a lot of the things she found had been tortured with a black pen to the point that she couldn't pull any information off of the files no matter what she tried. There was only one thing that she was constantly seeing that began to haunt her even in her dreams. It was a single word but it was going to be what killed her: '_Budapest_'.

Coulson's file was the most entertainingly written but the information itself wasn't all that fascinating. He was just your average worker doing his job with all the dedication he could muster. As for Fury… she made a mental note not to get on his bad side if she ever ran into him. She doubted that would happen but still. Caution was a good rule to live by. More so when you're a citizen hacking into a government agency's top secret files.

The built-blonde, Thor, was the one that caused her the most _frustrations_. And occasional break down. She'd heard the name, knew the legends and mythology, but trying to distinguish what was fact versus fiction was a task she couldn't seem to tackle with a level head. She lost her temper more than once and had to take numerous breaks. It was infuriating to have so much information at hand but no hint at what was fact versus fiction. The name 'Jane Foster' came up enough times in paperwork relating to Thor that Emily figured it couldn't hurt to take a peek at SHIELD's file on Jane out of sheer curiosity. Immediately she decided she liked the woman and her assistant, Darcy. Other than their connection to Thor the two girls didn't catch Emily's attention that much.

It was the heavily protected file titled _War Criminal: Loki_ that taught her what Hell really was. Again, she had heard the name before and knew about the mythology, and once again trying to sift through it all was a fucking nightmare, but the details the file contained gave her goosebumps. She'd never been the type to judge anyone based off things they did in the past but he was slowly becoming one of the exceptions. The more she learned about him the more Tony's panic attacks made sense. And Emily started wondering if she truly wanted to know what her cousin had gone through or if knowing would give _her_ nightmares too.

Luckily she didn't have too much time to worry about it since Tony demanded her assistance most of the day and she had started going with Pepper on all of her outings. On one such occasion Pepper surprised her by taking her clothes shopping for school. They picked up actual school supplies as well but that wasn't nearly as fun as trying on the lavish cloth; all of which fell around Emily's body in a way that made her feel anything but the country girl she was. Yet as much as she loved the clothing she didn't end up with much; it was fun to try on but she was most comfortable in her hand-me-downs.

In general Emily had settled in extremely well for having only been there for a month. Attending NYU was becoming the second best thing she'd ever done.

Hacking Jarvis being the first.

* * *

Emily loved spending time with her cousin and, in a manner of speaking, defacing government property but she was more than relieved when she woke up on September 3rd and prepared to attend her first day at NYU.

College itself wasn't a new experience for her. She had attended an in-state university for the first two years after high school under the impression she'd be the one to take over the farm. Her siblings liked the small town but taking care of all the animals wasn't their favorite thing to do, which meant that she was the most likely candidate. Besides, prestigious universities didn't appeal to her. They were too high-strung for her tastes and she didn't like the idea of having to constantly be on guard around classmates - a farmer's daughter at, say, Harvard, probably wouldn't be seen too well. Which meant attending NYU was extremely out-of-character for Emily; especially considering they didn't offer majors in Agriculture. It _really_ was just a lucky break that she had already taken all the necessary classes pertaining to farming and could take the necessary business classes at NYU.

She'd set her alarm for an hour earlier than usual and when it sang its irritating chorus that morning, Emily jumped out from her sheets and shut it off in a hurry. Excitement filled every cell of her body and she immediately threw open the armoire and began pulling the new clothing Pepper had gotten her out in full view.

The novelty of new clothing soon wore off as time passed and she had yet to get dressed.

Appearances had never been a big worry of Emily's in the past. Usually she'd been too busy chanting 'don't forget your homework, don't forget your lunch' over and over in her mind to the point that there was no room in her thoughts for clothes. That and she'd attended smaller schools where nearly all the students wore hand-me-downs or equally low-key clothing. But not today.

Presently Emily was hyper-aware of the clothes she chose, the way she styled her hair, and even the way her freckles trailed like dust sprinkles across the bridge of her nose. Her mind was filled with frantic thoughts pertaining to the sort of person she wanted to present herself as and worries about the way her physical attributes would come across. But the thought that kept sneaking past the others every few minutes was _why it mattered_ _all of a sudden_. What had changed to make her put so much effort into what she wore? On average she spent seconds deciding what to wear in the morning and relied on automatic reflexes when dealing with her mid-back length hair. True, she did care enough about her appearance to put on non-wrinkled clothes and run a brush through her hair but this was ridiculous.

'_It should not take this fucking long to decide on clothes,'_ she hissed at herself. But when she turned away from the heap of new clothing and stormed over to her dresser to grab her favorite hand-me-downs she couldn't bring herself to tug them on as she normally did. '_I'll stand out like a fox in the hen-house… right?'_

She glanced at the clothing pile.

"Pure idiocy!" She threw her hands up and fell onto her bed in defeat; burying her face into the soft duvet. "Knowledge is important, not society's ludicrous notions of women and the insecurities instilled upon them."

With her face buried in her sheets Emily sighed. Not once in her life had she ever worried about how she presented herself or what she looked like. It seemed so insignificant compared to watching the birth of her mare or the joy she felt when out in the field assisting her father. It had paled in comparison to spending holidays dressed in baggy pajamas and watching old movies while squished between her parents, siblings, and dogs. For her entire life she'd put happiness and family above appearance and material things. So why was she doubting herself all of a sudden?

The thoughts swirling in her head made her groan.

The room was depressingly quiet.

Emily flipped onto her back.

Her clock ticked.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Silence.

When she opened them her gaze was met with the only picture that had been hung on her wall. One look at the sincere smile on Tony's face and the memory came flooding back.

_ Everyone was cheering and laughing and bouncing in place. Hats of all sorts were being thrown towards the sky while students screamed in sheer delight. They were happy the ceremony was finally over. Happy to see family and friends. Happy that they had made it to graduation. High school was over and they could move on to bigger and better things._

_ As people laughed, cried, and hugged one another, Emily said a final farewell to her best friend of twelve years - crying and promising to keep in touch - before searching for her own family. Maneuvering her way through the writhing mass of family, friends, and graduated students she couldn't help but smile: pleasantly surprised that a town so small could find a way to collect so many individuals for one of its biggest celebrations of the year._

_ "Emily!"_

_ When she heard her name she made a final push and found herself outside the main group: directly before her family. Grinning ear to ear she ran to her parents and hugged them both at the same time, not caring that it was awkward and put unwanted pressure on her shoulder. They congratulated her and barely finished taking pictures before a familiar laugh echoed behind her. Twisting on her heel she screamed in excitement before throwing her arms about Tony's neck and practically cutting off his oxygen supply._

_ "I distinctly recall telling you that you'd make it," he laughed._

_ When she released him from her choke hold he wrapped his arm around her shoulder in support._

_ "You were the reason I almost didn't!"_

_ "Holding onto the past is a terrible way to live."_

_ She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance but her smile gave her away. "You blew up the science building!"_

_ "That was a building?" He faked a look of shock. "Felt more like a closet."_

_ "Compared to your house, maybe!" _

_ He didn't get a chance to reply before her parents descended upon them with the camera. But the glimmer of mischief in his eyes was all she needed. As her parents took picture after picture the feeling of doubt settled into her stomach. All she could think of was how ill-prepared she felt to face the rest of her life. How inadequate she was compared to Tony. How clueless she was in regards to what she was doing. And she wondered just how big of an accomplishment graduating high school really was._

_ Tony squeezed her shoulder and she looked up at him._

_ "I'm proud of you, Emily."_

_ Click._

Chirping from her second alarm, set as a back up, pulled her back to the present and she wiped the tear threatening to fall from the corner of her eye before standing up. Five small words from Tony had blown her uncertainties to dust back then and that was all she needed to remember who she was. She wasn't some rich college kid hoping to make an impression for no reason other than to make an impression. She wasn't Tony Stark either; fancy clothes and extravagant possessions didn't interest her. She was Emily Veras Stark: twenty year old farm girl from Wisconsin who's only concern at that moment was getting dressed and making it to school on time.

Faster than she thought possible, she threw a white t-shirt on, yanked her long sleeved plaid over-shirt over it, and pulled up her flared jeans. With a renewed self-confidence she strode into her bathroom to pull her hair into its familiar ponytail. Satisfied with her appearance she threw what she needed into her backpack - making sure to grab _White Fang_ - before running to the kitchen to grab a pop tart; managing to finish it before she returned to her room to brush her teeth.

After practically jogging to the garage, she shoved her backpack into the passenger seat, started the engine, and headed for the streets. Happy that she had memorized her route to school before the first day of school. The entire ride was relatively peaceful and traffic surprised her by being almost nonexistent. But she didn't have much time to think about it: the sudden sight of NYU made Emily squeak in surprise and her heart leap into her throat.

"Should have taken the tour last month," she muttered to herself as she stepped out of the mercedes Tony had let her borrow.

Her uncertainty of her ability to locate her classes didn't stop her from striding through the doors of the main building. Just like Tony Stark's cousin should.

Once inside, though, she realized just how much she had overestimated herself and a familiar dizziness washed over her.

'_Fuck…'_

Finding her classes was truly a struggle and by the end of the day she considered it the biggest challenge so far. It was like the airport all over again; even in the sense that she had to ask more than a few complete strangers which way to go. 'You'd think someone with my IQ could work a map,' she'd complained to herself. But once she had found her classes and sat down they were more interesting than she could have ever imagined. When they were over she'd been filled with a sort of melancholy - not wanting to wait until the next class day to continue the lessons.

By the time she left to find the mercedes, her head was spinning and she couldn't figure out how six hours had passed by so quickly. It had only felt like ten minutes.

The sight of the mercedes made her realize it truly _had_ been six hours.

'_This is going to be better than I hoped,'_ she mused, sliding into the driver's seat.

In a stroke of luck Emily managed to avoid rush hour and pulled into the garage in record time. But after the engine had been switched off she couldn't quite bring herself to move; not until the car had cooled off and the eery silence brought her back to reality. Grabbing her backpack she walked inside.

'_I'm never going to get accustomed to an animal-free house,_' she pouted.

Back home it was rare for her to walk through the door and not be trampled by the small heard of dogs that belonged to her family. Seeker would always be at the head of the pack followed by the youngest dogs with her parents' older dogs making up the rear. They'd all have their tongues rolled out of their mouths and butts wagging; excited to see her no matter how long she'd been gone.

But at the Tower she was met with empty space.

She didn't even run into Pepper very often.

With her homesickness tugging at her stomach she sprinted to the kitchen to grab a quick snack on her way to her room. Emily had the urge to peek in and say hi to Tony but she had homework to start on and assignments to organize. So she suppressed the urge and trotted to her room.

Once in the center of her room she tossed her backpack down and stretched: preparing herself to dive right into what needed to be done.

As an afterthought she locked her door to keep Tony from distracting her before getting all the work for her classes organized on the largest whiteboard she'd ever seen; one Pepper had bought for her.

It didn't take long.

"There," she smirked; taking a step back to admire her handiwork.

The whiteboard was filled with dates, assignments, and a range of colors all coordinated by the class and due date. She couldn't help but stare at it. At her prior college all she'd had to organize her assignments in was a planner and it got too cluttered too quickly for her tastes. This way she could just erase things as they were done.

Finished, she considered going to help Tony but the excitement of the day - mixed with homesickness - hadn't worn off quite yet so she started in on her homework. Hoping to stay one step ahead. God only knew how many times Tony would keep her from classes by pulling some stupid stunt.

The only time she left her room was to steal food from the kitchen.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

I'm not overly fond of this chapter but it's a necessary evil. Mainly because I am tired of rewriting it.


	4. Three Scientists and a Hulk

**Author's Note**:

The first 3 chapters have been rewritten – in a manner of speaking – so it may be beneficial for some to go back and skim/reread those chapters. Not much was changed just a few tweaks to Emily's personality (mainly the things she says). Also thank you so much to all those who have reviewed so far! You guys are the best encouragement I could ever ask for (shoutout to all of you at the end of this chapter!).

Regarding the longer-than-I-intended hiatus while rewriting I wanted to mention, again, that **all updates/plans/hiatuses will be posted on my tumblr**! (link on profile) For anyone crazy enough to want to know exactly what's going on in terms of the writing (and potentially get sneak-peeks) that's the best place to go! I'll still be on a mini-break while I try to edit/revise the rough drafts of later chapters I've already written. It's very time-consuming when you're sans a beta.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_Three Scientists and a Hulk_

* * *

"Uh, Tony?" Emily tentatively asked.

When the man standing in the middle of the kitchen turned around Emily blinked in surprise and had to fight the urge to gawk.

"Not… Tony."

"No. Sorry," the stranger awkwardly smiled. "You're Emily right?"

She nodded.

"My name's-"

"Bruce. Err- Banner. I mean, Bruce Banner." The more Emily tripped over her words the more her face turned red and the more awkward she felt. Without meaning to she blurted, "You're the Hulk."

She couldn't recognize the emotion that flitted across his face but his forced laugh and soft 'yea' had her mentally kicking herself.

"Sorry. I just… wasn't really expecting to see you, or anyone, in Tony's kitchen. Speaking of, where's my cousin?"

"Hey, glad to see you two've met," Tony laughed, as if on cue. "Banner's going to be staying to help me with a few projects."

She blinked then physically relaxed. Smiling she held out her hand, "Awesome. Nice to meet you."

He shook her hand and nodded in reply.

"By the way, kind of wicked cool the way you turn into a raging green behemoth."

Emily laughed at the look he gave her before turning to look at Tony, her arms crossed and foot tapping the floor. "Next time, care to inform the rest of Stark Tower's tenants that we have a guest? Would have appreciated the chance to make a decent first impression."

Banner's laugh surprised her. "It's fine," he said, referring to her concerns.

Stumped on what else to say to Banner, Emily offered a quick 'awesome' before punching her cousin in the arm, grabbing a pop tart, and leaving the kitchen. She desperately wanted to stick around and ask Banner about Tony but she'd be late if she didn't get the lead out of her pants. As kind as her professors had been so far she _knew_ they wouldn't tolerate lateness.

In her dash for the garage she bumped into Pepper but after a quick apology she raced to the mercedes and threw herself into the driver's seat.

'_Shit, shit, shit… going to be late,' _she moaned as she sped towards her campus.

Emily considered herself a talented driver, but when she pulled into the parking lot she didn't care that the silver car was at an angle as she squeezed it between a Honda Civic and Toyota Camry; running to her first class as soon as she heard the car doors lock.

She barely made it in time. Out of breath she slumped into her seat, ignoring the humored looks on classmates' faces, and got ready for the incoming lecture; regaining a normal breathing speed twenty minutes in.

Intro to Business ended and she filed out of the classroom along with the rest of her class. Once in the hallway most students parted for various reasons and it allowed her to breathe a tad easier. She flinched slightly when she realized she was the only one who wasn't walking with friends but as she dug around in her backpack it slipped her mind.

Struggling to keep a decent walking pace while reading Emily forgot all about the stairs leading to the courtyard. The second her foot slipped off the step she yelped but before she could take a nose dive into a mandatory hospital stay someone caught her by the waist.

"Whoa, careful."

She stared at the blonde holding onto her: completely speechless. Her mind was too preoccupied trying to figure out what had almost happened to convey her gratitude. Or appreciate that nature had spent an abnormally long amount of time sculpting his features.

"Hey, don't we have a class together?'

Emily blinked a few times before a deep red spread across her cheeks and she nodded. "Marketing, I think?"

She tried to play it cool, like Tony would, but the reality was that she'd noticed him on day one. Content being single, too busy keeping her cousin breathing, and having only attended classes one day so far meant she hadn't bothered to talk to him or even humor the idea of a relationship. Until now.

"Right."

"Th-thank you for catching me," she stuttered and pulled herself to her feet. "Wasn't my best idea I suppose."

He made sure she wasn't going to topple over again before laughing and extending his hand. "Clark Masters."

"Emily Stark," she replied, shaking his hand.

"Wait, are you-"

She sighed but nodded. "Tony Stark's cousin? Yep."

"Funny, you don't seem anything like him."

She wasn't sure if that was an insult or not but she'd expected those sorts of statements _before_ moving so she decided to just take it as a compliment. That off-kilter grin was too enticing to get offended over a stupid remark. Besides, it anything, it just meant she didn't seem erratic or self-centered.

"Thanks," she sheepishly grinned; tucking a strand of her dark brown hair back into place. Her mind tried to come up with something to say, anything, to keep him from walking away but he beat her to it.

"_White Fang_, huh?" He asked as he picked up the book she'd dropped and held it out. "My mother used to read that to me as a kid."

Emily smiled, brushing off her jeans. "Oh? It was my dad's favorite."

"Did he read it in-"

"different voices? _Yes_," she finished with a laugh. That had always been her favorite part, considering he had continued to read it to her even when she got old enough to read to herself. The voices he did had been the reason she'd never complained.

"Taking a leap of faith here, but would you care to grab lunch?"

Emily took a moment to think about it. When he rubbed the back of his head and looked away, as if losing hope she'd respond positively, she nodded.

"On me. Since you did keep me from an unwanted hospital visit. And irritating lecture from Tony."

He shot her a crooked grin. "So, what other sort of books do you enjoy?"

"Is 'everything' an acceptable answer?"

* * *

Lunch went by too fast. Clark was funny and much more grounded than she would have ever thought. He shared her love for books of all genres and, even though they disagreed on the morals discussed in _The Secret Garden_, they got along exceptionally well. They even had a similar taste in coffee.

At first she had thought he only asked her out due to her relation to Tony but the longer they talked the more she realized that wasn't the case at all. By the time she had to leave to get to her next class they'd exchanged numbers and made plans to meet for lunch on Friday.

The excitement had barely worn off by the time she made it home.

She strode into the Tower only to remember that Banner was there. He intrigued her. Partly because of how close he was to Tony yet so different personality wise, and partly because he was the first of the Avengers she'd met. That she _wasn't_ related to anyhow. Millions of questions swirled in her head by the time she made it to the elevator; she wanted to ask him about what he remembered about the invasion and how he thought it had changed her cousin. But she barely made it past the third floor before she heard a weapon go off followed by muffled screaming.

'_What the- What did you do now, Tony?'_

Quickly she hit the button for the floor Tony's workshop was on and impatiently waited for the frustratingly slow contraption to work its way there.

She wasn't ready for what she saw when the elevator doors opened.

The scene splayed out in front of her eyes was oddly reminiscent of Christmas day back home. Just, with fewer walls. Tools of all kinds were thrown about the room, joined by shards of glass from the windows, miscellaneous sections of Tony's suit, and fragments of cement from the ceiling. In the dead center of the chaos, lying flat on their backs, were Tony and Banner. Pepper stood less than a foot from where Emily was - her head in her hand. Obviously she was trying to remember what it was about Tony she loved.

'_Scattered tools? Check. Broken glass? Check. Suit and ceiling fragments? Check. Hope for Tony? Never to be seen again,' _she groaned.

Looking at Pepper she cringed. it wasn't unheard of for Tony to wreck his things but that didn't stop Emily's desire to clobber him.

"You couldn't have waited another ten minutes to do," she paused unsure what to call the display before motioning to all of it, "whatever this is?"

Tony grunted as he tried to clamber to his feet. Banner following suit. Both looked as though they were assaulted by a weed-whacker-wheeling-welder. If it wasn't for the way Pepper was looking at Tony, Emily's homicidal urge would've passed quickly and she'd have found it down-right hilarious. But the look on Pepper's face was worrisome.

"For as ridiculous as he can be, and stubborn, Tony's heart is in the right place. And, he adores you." Emily tacked the last part on in desperation.

Pepper smiled slightly; uncertainty still apparent on her face.

"Besides, you wouldn't be mean enough to leave me alone with him, right?" she whined.

That earned Emily a laugh.

Feeling confident that Tony hadn't fucked things up too badly, Emily sauntered into the room and tried to pinpoint the source of the damage. The glove on the floor made her weep for her cousin's sanity. What little was left.

"You didn't," she moaned, scrunching her eyebrows together. "Dammit Tony, you _know_ it wasn't ready to be tested yet! Let alone tested in your lab!"

He ignored her lecture; choosing to smile at Banner instead. "That went better than expected."

Banner didn't say anything, he just sighed and checked his watch. A grin tugged at the corner of her lips. It looked like a watch but she was well aware that it was meant to monitor his blood-pressure. Something she had discovered during her late nights of digging around. Part of her really wanted to scream 'ah ha!' but she wasn't about to get caught. Jail didn't seem like an easy place to keep an eye on Tony from.

Not caring that he didn't receive an answer, Tony looked around to locate the glove before picking it up, dusting it off, and sitting down to tinker with the contraption. She just rolled her eyes. While she wasn't nearly as eager to die as he seemed to be, she knew the joy he found in what he did.

As much as she wanted to give him the lecture of the century - about how stupid he'd been to test the glove and put his relationship in jeopardy - she felt dizzy and sick.

The hole in the wall showed the entire city in all its glory; reminding her, unfortunately, that she wasn't on solid ground.

She swayed and had to fight the urge to scream or throw up. Thankfully Tony was lost to the world so she didn't have to say anything before heading back to the elevator and strait to her room; stumbling slightly as she fought off a growing panic attack. When she made it through the door she didn't bother to keep things organized. Instead, she threw her backpack on the floor and sprinted to hold onto the couch.

There was a light tingling sensation growing in her legs so she knelt down behind the couch. Each time she took a breath it didn't feel as though she was getting enough oxygen which made her worries worse. Jaw clenched she shut her eyes and started counting backwards from one hundred; trying to regain control over her body in the process.

It took over ten minutes but she finally managed to slow her heart rate back down and her breathing returned to normal. But she still didn't feel capable of standing up. Head resting against the back of the couch she stayed where she knelt for another ten minutes in an effort to be entirely positive the attack was past.

Finally she stood up and hesitantly made her way to her windows; closing the drapes as soon as she wrapped her fingers around the fabric. Completely exhausted and drained of energy she trudged to her bed and flopped down; not bothering to remove her shoes.

Gripping her pillow she fell asleep; waking only long enough to do the homework she had left, grab dinner, and check to make sure Pepper hadn't decided to up and quit.

* * *

Thursday and Friday went by in a blur of homework, classes, the occasional explosion, and lunch plans with Clark. She found it incredibly easy to keep up with the work load being assigned and always seemed to get her homework done in record time. Not that it really said much about the classes since she hadn't finished her first week yet but it gave her hope. And when all was said and done, and she had no other responsibilities to see to, she'd sprint to Tony's lab where she would find Tony messing with part of his suit and Banner standing a foot or so away. After she let them know she was there she'd dive right into assisting Tony or badger Banner about the most random things: from where he was born to his favorite flavor of coffee to the type of shorts he favored. But her questions were always benign and non-intrusive; at least, when Tony was around.

Pepper finally dragged Tony away on Friday evening and Emily's entire demeanor changed just as it always did when she was alone with Banner. It was the only time she had to inquire about her cousin.

The first time she'd cornered Banner he'd seemed unsure what to say and often chose to keep things short but when Emily finally explained how incredibly worried her family was - how worried _she_ was - for Tony's safety he opened up more. It was through Banner that she learned about the Chitauri's motives, what Tony had been prepared to sacrifice, and how Tony seemed to be acting different even around Banner.

During their talk on Friday they found themselves sitting at the kitchen table, happy for the reprieve from the lab Pepper had supplied them with by dragging Tony to a particularly lengthy meeting. The last one he had that week.

"He saved the planet," she muttered; after Banner explained the way Tony seemed to struggle between continuing his usual erratic behavior and keeping a constant guard up. The mere idea that the event had affected her cousin _so badly_ that he actually took a step back to think before acting made her heart ache. She wasn't a psychologist, the way the mind worked wasn't interesting to her, but she couldn't fathom that he wasn't proud of himself for what he did.

"He's," Banner searched for the right words but found nothing to accurately explain the way Tony had changed.

All Emily could do was nod: trying to imagine what went through her cousin's mind these days.

"How are classes going?"

"Huh?" Emily blinked, not expecting the topic change. "Oh, right. College."

That got a small chuckle out of Banner.

"Admittedly, not as bad as I had imagined." She offered a small smile. "The work doesn't take too long to finish, the professors seem to know what they're talking about, and I've actually been making friends." She didn't include details on that last point. On the off-chance Banner let it slip to Tony she was conversing with a _guy_. Clark was a good person but Tony really did have a hard time remembering she was a grown-ass woman who could look after herself. That, and the fact that she had older brothers that were already bad enough at being overly-protective made her reluctant to talk about guys in general.

Taking a quick sip of her coffee she exhaled. "I'm… sort of glad I chose to attend NYU."

"What made you apply?"

"Tony," she muttered unsure how lame that sounded.

Banner just nodded in understanding.

"But as much as I love it it's always nice to come home after school on Friday - _today_ - and relax."

They both laughed - knowing that Stark Towers was much more hectic than her University - before letting the conversation give way to a comfortable silence. After her initial screw up with Banner it hadn't taken more than a few interactions for him to visibly relax around her. He seemed fine around Tony and she was incredibly similar to her cousin; minus the ego. She didn't fear him - she never really had - and often times poked light fun at his predicament. Plus it fascinated her: knowing how different he was to the 'other guy'. She could see why Tony enjoyed his company.

"So you don't remember much about it at all?"

Banner let out a small sigh before shaking his head.

"Interesting," she mused. After noticing his expression she placed a gentle hand on his arm and offered a small smile. "I was just curious."

He returned the smile and they both focused on the drink in their hands. As the silence returned - as it so often did during their conversations - they relaxed, happy to have the break from Tony's constant talking.

Soon enough, Tony returned and Banner accompanied him back to the lab.

Emily shook her head when he asked if she was going to join them.

"Some of us have work to do," she lied.

Her mind was still reeling from what Banner had told her; she didn't trust herself not to blurt out something in the midst of Tony's babbling.

* * *

When Emily returned home that following Monday it was just like any other day in her mind. She headed for her room to deposit her backpack before making her way to the kitchen to grab a quick snack and question Jarvis about Tony's behavior while she was away. Satisfied that Tony wasn't getting worse, and hadn't gotten into any more trouble in her absence, she choked down the last of her snack and trotted to Tony's lab in the hopes that he'd be too preoccupied talking to Banner to care about her tweaking his suit.

The elevator opened and she froze.

'_Are you- dammit Tony…_' she mentally chided her cousin.

Once again he had neglected to inform her that company was coming.

Banner was stationed in Tony's chair, which was unusual enough, while Tony was frantically trailing after a brunette clutching one of his many pieces of equipment. Emily couldn't make out what he was saying but she was sure he was trying to remind the woman that she was touching _Tony Stark's_ property and that if she broke it she'd be paying big time. Hilarious considering he could buy another and not make a dent in his fortune. But the brunette wasn't the only one in Tony's lab that wasn't supposed to be there. Another brunette stood awkwardly next to a table cluttered with papers speaking to an older gentleman - who seemed to be missing his pants.

As quietly as she could be, Emily headed into the lab; the doors opening automatically since Jarvis had long since given up with keeping her out; it hadn't taken long for her to discover he'd been lying about not being able to let her in the lab. Immediately she was greeted by Banner who just sighed and held his head in his hand. It was reassuring to know she wasn't the only one concerned about what was going on; though she was sure Banner had a better clue about it than she did. Her only advantage was that she already knew _who_ the strangers were without the need for introductions.

"Hey!" Tony barked. "You're going to break it."

"I know what I'm doing, Stark," Jane replied, fiddling with the contraption she held in her hand.

"I don't appreciate people taking my stuff." His voice was a mixture of amusement, irritation, and immense concern for his things.

She just ignored him and struck up a conversation with the man Emily recognized as Erik Selvig.

"Hey Jane, your thingy's being a butt again," Darcy chimed in.

Tony frowned, obviously annoyed he was being ignored. But that wasn't going to stop him.

Concerned, Emily turned to Banner and pointed at the scene playing out before her.

"SHIELD _requested_ that Tony assist Ms. Foster and Mr. Selvig with their research," he answered before she even had time to ask the question.

"Sure, 'requested'," she mumbled. Banner just shot her a confused look and she realized she'd give her late night research away if she didn't change the subject. So she did. "He's not wearing any pants…"

Banner sighed.

"Tony!" Emily shouted.

He turned to look at her but just nodded in acknowledgment before returning to the lecture he was giving Jane over the reckless use of his equipment. Amusing considering he'd broken more than one machine - including the one she was holding - in the last week alone along with multiple windows.

Not appreciating the lack of reply, Emily walked over to the table they were all crowded around. Without thinking she picked up a few of the papers and skimmed over the information. Anomalies didn't usually attract her attention but the readings seemed off. Typically they were about changes in weather or spikes in atmospheric pressure but these didn't match either criteria. Jane snatched the paper from her just as Emily realized the readings were about a drastic shift in pollution levels. Confusing considering Jane was an astrophysicist.

"Who are you?"

It took Emily a moment to realize what Jane had just asked her. "Huh?"

"That's my cousin," Tony cut in, waving his hand as if she wasn't important. "Now why are you moving my equipment-"

"What's she doing here?"

Emily could tell Jane wasn't trying to be rude but that didn't stop her blood from boiling. She took a deep breath before gesturing to the paper Jane had taken. "Why are you studying pollution levels?"

Jane blinked at her.

"Pollution levels- that's what the readings are, right?"

She just stared.

Emily rolled her eyes before extending her hand, waiting for Jane to hand her the papers back. It took a moment before Jane _cautiously_ gave them to her. Immediately Emily placed the paper on the table, shuffled a few of the other papers littered about, and pointed to the first - muttering a small 'there'. Jane just stared at the data Emily's finger hovered over.

"Jarvis, can you pull up the pollution levels of the United States for the past ten years? _Excluding_ this year?"

"Yes ma'am." In moments a hologram of the data hung in the air.

Swiping it so it was stationed on her right, Emily picked up the paper and compared it to the hologram. "There's been an, overall, average of a 5% spike in pollution levels all across the United States," she motioned for Jane to stand beside her before she continued. "But there's been _one hell of_ a drastic jump in the levels of the least polluted cities. Like Santa Fe-Espanola, New Mexico and Cheyenne, Wyoming."

Emily handed Jane the paper before asking Jarvis to pull up the data from the current year alone.

"It doesn't make sense though. Pollution is caused by burning fossil fuels, industry or manufacturing emissions, household and farming chemicals- you get the idea." She pulled up another hologram and scrunched her eyebrows. "But this doesn't make much sense. There hasn't been any added manufacturing plants, an increase in car sales that would explain it, or even illegal dumping in those areas."

She laughed when Tony raised an eyebrow at the last part.

"Just because it's illegal doesn't mean no one knows about it, Tony."

"Than what could be the cause?" Erik asked.

Everyone looked at Emily expectantly and she felt her cheeks grow red. As much as she enjoyed being able to help she didn't appreciate the assumption that she would have all the answers.

"That's the million dollar question," she shrugged.

Jane sighed and Darcy clapped. Apparently it wasn't everyday that someone could one-up Jane. Not that Emily intended to show off - she was just incredibly protective of the state the planet was in. It was something that she had always kept tabs on back home due to the risk it posed to potential crops and livestock. Ever since her arrival at Stark Towers, however, she'd been a tad busy with other research.

With the new information, Jane and Erik suddenly threw themselves into their work - Tony returning to hovering over their shoulders - leaving Darcy, Emily, and Banner clueless about what to do.

Stretching, Emily figured it would be best not to get in the way again. Jane seemed nice enough - the small altercation didn't lessen Emily's respect for the woman - but it was obvious that she had a tendency to get defensive about her work. So Emily headed for the door, deciding that a food break would be a welcome relief. She didn't have to say a word to Banner or Darcy - they merely followed her lead.

Once in the kitchen, Emily pulled out the ingredients and pans she needed before she set about making lasagna and apple pie. Earning confused but intrigued looks from Banner and Darcy. To which Emily just laughed. She'd already had a snack before everything happened in the lab but between Pepper being extremely busy with Tony's company and needing something to do outside of the lab - well, Emily figured she could kill two birds with one stone.

As soon as the preparations were done and both pans in the oven, Emily sat down next to Darcy.

"Who are you anyhow?"

Darcy's question broke the silence and stunned Emily. But she quickly recovered.

Running a hand through her hair Emily replied, "Emily Stark, Tony's cousin."

"Never heard of you," Darcy shrugged.

"Tony… doesn't talk about his family - _us_ - much. But it's to be expected, considering we're farmers," Emily giggled. She didn't mind the way Darcy put her question since the girl was just blunt - not rude.

"So, what're you doing here?"

"I'm staying with Tony while I go to NYU," Emily immediately replied. She caught Banner's gaze and sent him a 'go with it' look. Not everyone needed to know that she was supposed to be keeping a careful eye on her cousin.

Banner opted to just stay quiet and let the two girls talk.

Three hours later Pepper returned and gave Emily a surprised 'thank you' when she realized dinner was already made and on the table. Emily just smiled and motioned for Pepper to sit down. She hesitated, obviously wondering about Tony but Emily insisted.

"He'll be here momentarily."

Pepper didn't say anything. She just sat down and gave Emily a curious look - to which Emily returned a mischievous grin.

"Jarvis," she cooed. "Do you remember that song I was playing this morning?"

"Billy Currington's _I Wanna be a Hillbilly_, correct?"

"That's the one."

"What about it, ma'am?"

"Be a dear and throw that sucker on repeat in Tony's lab."

"Are you… sure, ma'am?"

"Yes. And stop calling me ma'am. It makes me sound old," she snorted.

Moments later she heard Tony's angry voice and footsteps approaching. With the most innocent smile she could muster she turned to greet her cousin. "So glad you decided to join us for dinner!"

He opened his mouth to snap at her but his stomach growled, giving him away. Reluctantly he sat down.

Emily knew him better than he seemed to remember. Food he didn't have to cook or pay for was his favorite, well, it _used to be_; back before he discovered Shwarma. After Jane and Erik joined them everyone dug in and Emily felt content. While she didn't particularly like cooking she was decent at it and always appreciated satisfied 'customers'. Being the one in charge of her younger siblings when her parents were busy with the farm meant she had had to cook more than her fair share of meals. And for kids raised on a farm her siblings were awfully picky.

Dinner was warm, inviting, and Emily suddenly felt a startling - _overwhelming_ - home-sickness. She'd almost forgotten how it felt to be surrounded by people and conversation. Hell, she'd forgotten what it was like to just have dinner with more than one person. Tony and Pepper seemed to be perpetually busy and they didn't have dinner together very often. Emily mentally kicked herself for hating family dinner as a kid. The amount of people had been frustrating but the relaxed atmosphere coupled with having family close was nice. She missed it.

'_Definitely need to call mom tomorrow_.'

"Damn, this is good," Darcy mumbled through a mouthful of food. "You'd make a good spouse."

Emily burst out laughing when Tony nearly choked. Disregarding that fact that she wasn't all that interested in marriage and the like, it was a sweet notion. Clark was a great guy but they had a long ways to go before she'd be comfortable calling him a friend let alone dating.

"Thanks. I think."

Tony just glared at Darcy. The thought of Emily having a boyfriend wasn't that big of a deal it was the corresponding thoughts that bothered him. With a twenty-three year gap between them he'd always considered her too young to date. Her first boyfriend had been one _hell_ of a shock for him.

Emily was sure that, if she told him she'd already had sex, he'd croak.

Luckily Pepper had changed the subject and any tension in the air disappeared.

After everyone was done eating they went their separate ways. Jane, Darcy, and Erik left to go collect their things - once again Tony forgot to mention that they'd be staying in the Tower - while Tony dragged Banner back to the now vacant lab to hide the equipment he didn't want Jane touching. Leaving Pepper and Emily to clean up. But the girls didn't seem to mind, it had been a few days since they'd actually been able to talk.

"I'm glad you're here, Emily."

The statement caught her off-guard and she almost dropped the plate she was holding.

"He acts more like the old Tony."

Emily's face fell. She had hoped that, of all the things that the invasion would affect, Tony's relationship with Pepper wouldn't be one of them. Alas, it - apparently - was. She didn't know how to feel about that. It was great that Pepper hadn't decided things were too much and left but the fact that Emily being there brought back enough of the old Tony that Pepper felt the need to thank her… that wasn't good.

"I'm… glad," she said, unable to keep all of the sorrow out of her voice. Pepper just offered a small look of understanding before they returned to the dishes.

"How're your classes going?"

Emily felt a mixture of irritation and elation at the question. "Phenomenal, to be honest."

Pepper smiled. "Grown used to the air, then?"

Suddenly Emily understood why Pepper could put up with Tony: she had one hell of a twisted sense of humor. "I guess I have," she mused.

"Good."

"The schoolwork's pretty easy and I get along with most of my classmates."

"What's his name?"

Emily whipped her head to stare at Pepper; nearly breaking it. "I don't- how'd you know?"

"You're fairly easy to read, Emily."

She sighed but admitted defeat. "His name's Clark."

"How'd you meet?"

"Marketing class," Emily muttered. "Well, we have Marketing together but he kept me from breaking my face by falling down the stairs one day."

"What's he like?"

Mentally Emily thanked Pepper for not dwelling on her near-hospital visit. "He likes the same sort of books I do, he's aiming for a Business major, and he hasn't once mentioned Tony. Plus he's the first guy I've met with a brain in his skull that doesn't give me funny looks when I talk about the family farm."

"Sounds like a keeper."

Emily laughed. "Yea, no."

"Oh?"

"It takes more than a few conversations to get to know someone," she explained. "Besides, we aren't at the friend level yet so dating isn't even on the radar right now."

"I see."

"Promise you won't..."

"Promise."

It was nice to know that Pepper didn't want to deal with Tony's undoubtable tangent when he found out Emily was hanging out with some guy. It meant that Pepper wasn't about to tell him anytime soon. And, Emily had someone to talk to about Clark.

The two finished the dishes and parted ways; Pepper went to track down Tony while Emily headed back to her room to study.

And check her phone for messages…

That night Emily had a hard time sleeping. Her dreams were filled with decaying planets and screaming strangers, but what caused her the most distress were the constant memories of Tony when they were younger. She'd feel helpless as Earth fell away in front of her eyes only to have the memory of the first time Tony let her _actually_ take the lead on a project take its place; the way he'd cheered her on as she connected wires only to laugh and congratulate her when it didn't work. For someone so self-centered Tony had been the most encouraging person in her life. Even her failures were successes in his eyes and he constantly reminded her that the only way to get anywhere was to make mistakes. Of course, his reminders were fairly sarcastic but she always knew when he was being genuine. It was a lucky gift. But the memory would soon be obliterated by a melting planet filled to the brim with chaos. Which would give way to more memories.

By the time she woke she had bags under her eyes regardless of the full eight hours of sleep she managed to get.

Feeling terrible she opted to wear her most sentimental clothes, relieving part her of her homesickness but replacing it with a different sorrow as she held the plaid fabric of her shirt in her fingers. Remembering how memorizing her grandmother had been while making the shirt. Her aged hands zipping back and forth on the sewing machine while she swayed to the humming the machine made. The shirt had been made for Emily's older sister but when she'd outgrown it their mother saved it for Emily.

She pulled the fabric to her nose and inhaled.

It smelled like home: like the daisies planted on the perimeter of the barn, the fresh, dry, hay she would lug into the horses' stalls in the morning, and the sweat from her stallion as they raced around the field bareback or basked in the sun on the grass. It smelled like the pumpkin pie her mother would make on random days and leave on the window's edge to cool and the dust that would jump from her father's shirt after he got home from town only to drown her in a bear hug.

"I thought you only smelled books."

Tony's taunting broke her train of thought and Emily rolled her eyes. He wouldn't understand the feeling or reassurance it gave her.

"I thought _you_ knew to knock," she retorted with a grin.

He snorted before leaving; obviously satisfied that she was awake and not in a state of panic. After grabbing her backpack she trotted to the kitchen only to find Darcy and Jane there already. With a smile she wished them a happy morning before digging through the cupboards to find her poptart box. She hadn't even opened the silver wrapping when Darcy laughed.

"Thor ate an entire box of those once," Jane explained.

"And was still hungry," Darcy snorted. "But he seemed to like them."

Emily smiled but in the back of her mind wondered if there was a chance that the Asgardian would visit. Realizing that, if he did, Tony was probably not inclined to tell her until after she'd already run into Thor.

'_Couldn't hurt to write my name on the box. _All_ the boxes.'_

* * *

**Asiamazing**: _Your review had me smiling like a bloody fool when I first read it! I've never been all that confident in my writing style and I cannot express to you just how much your review meant to me both in regards to the story and my confidence as a writer in general. Thank you so much (I'm glad you were able to locate the story again - otherwise I would have missed your review something terrible)!_

**LexxHiddleston**: _Truth be told I was lightly paranoid at your review but I'm hoping that some of the work I did to try and discover Emily as a character will help both myself when writing but also readers who haven't quite decided how to feel about her._

**Sunflower13**, **theladyofthelost**, and **Jazz379705**: _Thank you so much for the support! I truly appreciate all the kind words and encouragement! I don't expect anyone to spend valuable time reviewing my work so I'm always so happy and excited when they do. Thank you all so, so, so much!_


	5. A Close Encounter

**Chapter 5**

_A Close Encounter_

* * *

School went by just as it had the first day except, this time, Emily knew where her classes were.

Plus she had another lunch date.

They had agreed to meet at a nearby Starbucks, located in The Square, at noon but Emily's class was let out late and she was forced to sprint the entire way. She made it to the door just as Clark was departing. The look of betrayal - and pain - on his face made her groan and she placed her hand on his arm.

"I'm so sorry, Clark," she mumbled and offered him a sheepish smile.

"It's fine." He returned her smile and she sighed in relief. Ten minutes late she could understand. Even twenty minutes she could understand. But forty-five minutes?

"Coffee's on me," Emily said as she pulled Clark back inside.

"Who could say no to free caffeine?"

His laughter helped her relax and, once they had received their coffee, they found themselves deep in conversation.

"In your last text you said you had a sister, what's she like?" Emily inquired.

Clark leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Something told Emily his sister wasn't exactly a great conversation topic. Mentally she kicked herself for forgetting not everyone got along with their family. Unsure if she should take it back and try something else her hands immediately reached up to play with her necklace. Her fingers cradling the emerald crystal while she grappled with her thoughts.

"Christine is," Clark began. "Well, she fits the upper-class stereotype a little more than I'd like to admit."

Emily immediately stopped her nervous fiddling and gave Clark her full attention. When he didn't continue she motioned for him to go on.

"She's a big fan of expensive things - especially clothing and cars - and if it wasn't for the fact we live in a penthouse on the top floor she'd be sneaking out every night to go party."

"How old is she?"

"Seventeen."

Emily laughed slightly. "So, she does what most teens do. Just… with a little more class."

He shot her the crooked grin that sent shivers up her spin before continuing. "I suppose. It _would_ be nice if she'd come back to Earth once in a while. I miss when she actually liked spending time with me."

"I know the feeling."

Clark took a sip of the coffee stationed in front of him. "We weren't always close but there was this one time, about five years ago, when our parents were out on business and it was just the two of us. I was eighteen and wanted to spend the weekend with friends but when the babysitter showed up and I headed for the door Christine grabbed onto my leg and wouldn't let go. I tried to shake her off but she wouldn't budge."

Emily laughed. "I don't know what it is but little kids have grips like velcro."

"Tell me about it. I tried everything but she just wouldn't let go. She kept crying and saying 'don't leave me too, don't leave me too' - eventually I caved. Hell, I'd spent more time with nannies for the first six years of my life than my own parents. I knew what she was feeling. So I sent the babysitter home. We went to the living room and she just sat there and stared at me. Waiting." He stopped to take another drink. "Just as I was about to change my mind, again, she ran to her room and grabbed all the board games she could physically carry. She dropped one on her way back to the couch and just about tripped on it. We spent the morning playing board games, the afternoon watching disney movies, and by some strange twist of fate she gave me a make-over after dinner."

The coffee nearly shot out of Emily's nose. She grabbed a napkin and stifled her laughter.

"Sorry. Sorry. It's not every day a grown man admits to getting a make-over by his sister as a teen."

He snorted.

Emily waved her hands in defense. "It's not a bad thing. Just unusual."

Clark gave her an apprehensive look as he studied her face. Searching for hints of sarcasm or insincerity but when he found none he rolled his eyes and continued. "When it was time for bed she couldn't keep her eyes open and I had to carry her to her room. I'd barely tucked her in when she wrapped her arms around my neck and said 'it's alright if mom and dad don't come home. I like you more'."

Emily was speechless. Sure, Clark wasn't like what she'd imagined New York University students to be like but she'd assumed he had had at least a privileged, no troubled, life. '_Welp, I'm an asshole._' She groaned in her mind.

Right on cue he shrugged before shooting Emily that crooked smile. "And that's the story of the only time I've ever bawled like a baby," he joked.

She shook her head. "Don't be embarrassed. Not many guys care that much about their siblings, especially at that age."

"I'd cry on national television if she'd go back to being that innocent little girl again. Now all she does is retreat to her room, brush me off, and when she does talk to me... it's as if she can only speak sarcasm. Trying to get her to spend time with me is like…" he searched for the right analogy. "Like Pepper trying to get Tony to attend meetings."

Emily couldn't help but laugh. "You don't know just how difficult it is."

Clark just raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say I'd rather be forced to live in the city and do Tony's job than take over Pepper's job."

"That bad?"

"You really want to know?"

He pondered it for a moment. "Err- remind me what it is about farm life that you love?"

"In an hour, when I haven't shut up, remember you asked for this."

"Will do."

"Farming isn't just hard work and a lot of crying," she winked. "It's being unrestricted. There's not a deadline you have to meet every week. No bosses breathing down your neck to work faster. Most importantly no stuffy cubicle. You're surrounded by the beauty of nature and the peace it brings with it. I mean, knowledge is important, don't get me wrong, but there's no joy in learning when you're pitted against your peers. That's stressful and it doesn't give you positive opinions on those same peers. No matter what you do you'll always find someone better at it, someone more qualified, and in the end you'll be thrown into their shadow. Farming isn't like that. You have to rely on and trust your peers, carry the burdens together, which means there's no hierarchy. Everyone is equal. Everyone's expected to do the same amount of work, put in the same amount of effort, and celebrate the same rewards. It's…" Emily had to pause to catch her breath. "Healthier. When you have a bad day at, say, a big Starbucks' chain you're told to suck it up and power through it. You don't get a choice but to be happy and give pissy customers what they demand." That earned her a glare from the frowning businessman standing at the counter: complaining to the employee about his less-than-ideal coffee. Emily just smiled at him before continuing. "But on a farm the only living things around are animals. They don't belittle you, don't demand you greet them with a smile and go-get-'em attitude or else you'll be fired… They just listen."

A warmth spread across Emily's cheeks when she stopped and actually looked at Clark's expression. Just as his story had left her speechless, hers had returned the favor. Her hand reached for her necklace once again as that nervous feeling returned. "Life isn't just about surviving, it's about finding joy. Being happy."

"Your parents sure taught the right life lessons."

She shook her head. "My grandfather was the one who taught me that."

There was an awkward silence as she rolled the crystal in her hand.

"He sounds like an incredibly observant man."

"Perceptive about everyone but himself."

Clark gave her a questioning look.

"He could always tell what his children and grandchildren were thinking or feeling. Always knew how to make us feel better. But for the longest time he could never see how shattered he was after my grandmother passed away," she muttered as she choked back the tears. "The sad part is that I was the only one who noticed it before he passed away. I-"

Emily blinked in surprise when she felt Clark's hand on her own.

"If you're not ready to talk about it, just say so."

She pulled her hand out of his and wiped away the few rogue tears. "He was a good man."

"I don't doubt it."

Emily offered a weak smile before taking a few sips of her coffee in an attempt to quell the pain rising in her chest. When she placed it back to the table Clark was watching her carefully. But before she could apologize for the almost-break down he broke the silence.

"You make farming sound like a dream job. Think it's too late to change my major?"

That earned him a hoarse laugh. Only to be replaced by a muffled scream when Emily looked at her phone and saw the time.

"Shit!"

He jumped. "Something wrong?"

"No. Err, not with Tony. But I'm going to be late!"

"Shit."

Emily frantically shot from her seat and grabbed her bag. "Shit. I'm so sorry for having to run…"

"It's fine. Hurry and you might still make it!" Clark encouraged.

She smiled at him and ran for the door, only to stop to turn around and shout 'text me later' before continuing to her class.

Even though she had lost track of time she didn't regret it. The more she spoke to Clark the more she enjoyed being around him. And the more he surprised her. He was definitely proving every assumption she'd had about New York University students completely wrong.

Thankfully.

The rest of her day flew by and before she knew it she was home. Luckily no one saw her when she returned and she was able to sneak to her room and dive right into her homework. Even when it was done she remained in her room. As much as she loved her cousin there wasn't anything that could get her to go jump into the middle of the argument he was undoubtably caught up in. Either with Jane or Pepper. By now Emily didn't have to hear them arguing to know they were; he'd been getting himself into trouble from the moment the research team had shown up. His concern for his things gave him one more reason to try and brush off his responsibilities at work - missing more than an acceptable number of meetings - which put him on Pepper's bad side while his doting over those very things put him on Jane's bad side. Honestly it was something of a miracle that he could get along with women long enough to actually have any sort of relation to them. No matter how brief.

Of course, in a twisted way, it was sort of entertaining to watch them argue.

Something about watching her cousin being reminded that he wasn't the center of the world was reassuring. Plus it made her feel better about the stupid things he used to do to her. '_Sometimes the best revenge is the one that has no connection to you_.'

Just as Emily was rethinking her decision to stay in her room there was a particularly loud crash. Followed by a few muffled screams. She sighed and realized it had been wise to stay put. Besides, it had been longer than she thought it had since she was able to just read and stay in the confines of her room. When the research team had shown up Emily had been concerned it would have a negative impact on Tony's mental health so she'd opted to stick by his side for the last few days. But it seemed as though her fears had been ill-founded. His only real issue was learning to share, not suppressing panic attacks. It was a welcome relief considering she had missed being able to sit in her room and relax. Working in an actual lab was nice seeing as she didn't have anything remotely similar back home but it could be draining to be around Tony for too many days in a row.

Thus, Emily vowed to spend the rest of the day holed up reading her text books, the books her mother sent, and the books she'd stolen from Tony's library. At one point she considered going to steal more but when a mortified scream echoed up from the lab she chose not to risk it.

For someone to scream loud enough that she could hear it from _her room_ meant Tony was in some deep shit.

'_I'd rather attend ballroom dance classes again than go near that mess,_' she snorted before returning her attention to her books.

* * *

It took all of two days for Tony to do it_ again_.

Emily was on cloud nine when she returned to the tower that Thursday. She'd aced a particularly gruesome quiz that morning before bumping into Clark in the hallway. They hadn't talked for long but it was long enough to put her in a good mood and, as she walked through the front door of the tower, she wanted nothing more than to go call her mother and gush about it all.

Two feet through the door and she almost ran into another unannounced guest.

On reflex she opened her mouth to apologize for not paying attention but when the woman turned around Emily felt her heart stop. One look was all it took for her to recognize Natasha Romanoff. Images of handcuffs, prison cells, and court rooms flashed in her mind.

Immediately she jumped back and offered a nervous laugh. "Sorry. Didn't know we were expecting a guest," Emily said and extended her hand. She might have been smiling but internally she was raging. "I'm Emily Stark. Tony's cousin."

"Natasha Romanoff."

Emily had to remind herself to breathe when Natasha shook her hand. Natasha might have been smiling and seemed fairly relaxed but Emily was more than aware that, if Natasha wanted to, she could kill her and leave no trace. A shiver ran down Emily's spine. Her entire body tensed in response and she tried not to show her paranoia. She had no clue how to speak to Natasha or if it was even a good idea to engage in casual conversation. It didn't help at all that Emily was entirely inept at simple chit-chat amongst _family_ _and friends_ - never mind a complete stranger with the ability to kill her and make it look like an accident. It was a miracle she hadn't fainted.

Natasha was amazing, Emily could admit that, but she was still intimidating as hell. Even in the grey mini skirt and white blouse she was currently wearing. Plus, Emly wasn't sure if SHIELD knew about her little stunts yet.

Her mind reeled with thoughts of getting caught or arrested and she shuddered.

"Natasha!"

Luckily Tony's voice tore through the awkward silence and Natasha's attention was pulled away from Emily's nervous figure. More than lucky considering she was having a hard time keeping herself from passing out.

She didn't wait to hear what Tony was going to say before making her escape to her room. Where she stayed for the rest of the day once again. Though, _this time_ it was due to fear she'd blurt out something incriminating rather than trying to avoid the ninth ring of hell in Tony's lab.

* * *

"Narcissistic prick!" Emily snarled and threw the manual sitting on the table at her cousin's head. "This makes _four consecutive times_! Four, Tony! Four!"

He stared at her with a freshly poured drink in hand, completely dumbstruck, trying to piece together why she'd lobbed the manual at him. It wasn't even an informative manual. She might have missed but it was the _attempt_ that mattered.

They locked gazes and he would have sworn he saw smoke billowing out of her ears.

"Your incompetence will be the death of me!"

It clicked.

He grinned.

She threw a screw driver at him; another miss.

"Where's Hawkeye anyhow?"

The scream that tore out of Emily's throat could have been heard across the country…

Banner's gaze didn't leave the monitor on his wrist until Emily had left the lab and he heard the elevator stop. Even then he kept it in his peripheral.

The research team simply stared at the space Emily had been standing in with looks of horror and utter confusion riddled across their faces.

Pepper just sighed.

_Everyone_ agreed that it would be a miracle if Tony survived the rest of the day.

If it wasn't for the meetings Pepper kept dragging him to - spur of the moment meetings whose only purpose was keeping Tony away from Emily - he'd be nothing more than a mangled heap ground into the floor of his lab. At first everyone, even Natasha, had been unsure why Emily had been so pissed but after Barton joined them in the lab and made an off-handed comment about nearly taking out a civilian they understood. Emily hadn't just run into Barton like she had Natasha the day before, she'd surprised him enough that he'd nearly fired an arrow through her chest.

Needless to say, no one tried to bother her after she slammed the door to her room; staying there for the rest of the night.

They figured it was to cool off and keep from annihilating her cousin.

But that was a small part of the truth. In reality, Emily had heard more than enough rumors regarding unexplainable deaths during class. Deaths that had been swept under the public's radar by some nameless government agency. It had sounded too familiar - too SHILED-like - to leave alone.

After she calmed down enough to put all thoughts of killing Tony in the back of her mind she decided to do a little research; sifting through news articles, online forums, and even taking another crack at SHIELD's database. Momentarily forgetting the two assassins currently present. _Purposefully_ forgetting that one of them had already come close to killing her.

Yet, for all her digging, she didn't find much other than a few photos of the crime scenes.

Although they made her uneasy they didn't seem like anything to really worry about.

* * *

For two days after her close-call with Clint, Emily spent all her free time in her room or going to the public library. It had been _too_ close of a call for her to feel comfortable in the Tower or assisting the research team. And once her rage had subsided a paranoia of being caught had set in. There were two top SHIELD agents wandering the halls of Stark Tower - both of which terrified her - and she was the citizen that had hacked their database. Repeatedly.

It was in her best interest not to come across either of them.

On the third day her mind chose to replay her near-death experience over and over in her head and she finally couldn't take it anymore.

"I have never considered murder so many times in my _life_!"

Clark chuckled as she rubbed her eyes. They were sitting on the grass in the courtyard, not caring that it was the middle of September, with coffees in hand. As Emily groaned he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"He's not worth the jail time," he joked.

She snorted. "That's what I thought too. At least, until I heard an arrow fly past my ear."

He raised a concerned eyebrow and she sighed. "I mean, I'm alive… sure. But really, I almost died because he couldn't be bothered to tell me we were expecting _more_ people."

"Maybe it slipped his mind?"

It was a sweet idea but ill-founded.

"Forgetting to tell me Banner was coming is fine. Hell, forgetting to tell me that an _entire research team_ was coming is typical Tony behavior. But the two assassins?" She shook her head.

"Well, didn't you tell me last week he once forgot to tell you about a party he was hosting until ten minutes before it started?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but that's different. None of the guests were capable of killing me _on reflex_," she sighed.

Clark offered a sympathetic look and she gave him a half-hearted smile; grateful he was wiling to listen to her bitch about her family even though they'd only known each other for a little over a week.

Their conversation faded to silence and she just stared at her lunch. Remembering how she almost died sort of made her appetite vanish. She was just thankful her professor in her next class had had to cancel the lecture for the day. Family issues or something.

God how she could relate.

"How are your parents doing?"

"Good. From what my mother tells me it seems as though my younger siblings are actually pulling their own weight now that I'm gone."

"Really?"

"Yep. It's such a relief, since Finnegan turns seventeen this year. We were all a little concerned he'd never make it in the world if he didn't start taking his chores more seriously."

Clark gave her that crooked grin. "Didn't you admit to doing his chores as an excuse to stay out in the barn longer?"

She feigned innocence and whistled: her eyes looking everywhere but at him. When he didn't take his eyes off her she laughed. "Alright. I admit it. In my defense... I used to do Darrel's chores too. Up until he moved out."

"Wait, remind me which one Darrel is?"

She sighed.

"Not all of us have a dozen siblings, Emily."

She snorted. "I don't have a dozen. I have seven."

They stared at each other for a moment before breaking out laughing.

"Fine, fine. You win," she said wiping away a stray tear. "Alice is the oldest and she just turned 34."

"She's the one with kids, right?"

"Yep. Missy, Chad, and Thomas are hers."

"They're rather young, aren't they?"

Emily shook her hand in a 'so-so' fashion. "Missy's ten, Chad's seven, and Thomas is three. But since Holly's eleven I wouldn't really consider Missy that young."

Clark scowled. "Your family is far too large."

She laughed. "Aw, come on. It's not that unusual. Is it?"

"For New York it sure is."

Emily paused, not sure how to react to that. But when he noticed her hesitation Clark laughed and squeezed her arm. "It's not a bad thing. Just not the norm."

She smirked. "Sure. Sure."

"Alright, continue. Alice is the oldest… then comes Bri-"

"Brad. He's 29, easy-going, and a prankster. Conner's the third oldest at the age of 25 and Darrel's only three years older than I am."

"So he's fifteen, right?"

She punched him in the arm. "Rude."

"Just teasing."

"Uh huh."

He laughed at her attempt to glare at him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Go on."

She waited for a moment before dropping the act. "Let's see… Alice, Brad, Conner, Darrel," she had to tick them off on her fingers before she remembered where she was. "Right, I was born after Darrel."

"Best event in your parents' life, right?"

"Smooth," she giggled.

"I try."

"Finnegan's seventeen and really into music. Ginger's twelve and Holly's eleven, like I said. Those two are the terrors and always into trouble."

"Says the girl who dyed her brother blue."

"In my defense… Conner locked me in the attic for three hours. I just got him back."

Clark raised his hands in front of his chest. "Hey, I'm not judging. I've pranked my sister before."

"Oh, right. I forgot," she giggled. "You hid her iPad under her bed. Quick, I hear the cops. Might want to hide before they catch you."

He snorted at her but she winked and he rolled his eyes.

"Sure you live on a farm? Sounds more like a circus."

"There's a difference?"

Just as Clark opened his mouth to say something his phone went off. Three sentences later he sighed and stood up.

"Gotta head home. Parents are going to be gone at some gala tonight which means I get to go pick up Christine from school."

Emily gave him a sympathetic look before throwing what was left of her lunch in her bag and standing up too.

"It's alright, I should probably head home. Can't hide forever, right?"

He laughed.

They both said a quick goodbye before parting ways. And when Emily was sitting behind the steering wheel of her mercedes, something she had claimed last week after Tony took it out and almost made her late, she smiled. She felt a lot better about nearly dying after talking to Clark about it. There was something about Clark that made it hard for her to stay upset around him. It was for that reason that, after she made it home, she gathered the nerve to go investigate the research team's progress. She was still shaken up about her run-in with Barton, and unsure if he or Natasha knew about her _extracurricular_ activity, but not nearly as severely as she had been. Besides, she missed pestering Tony in the lab.

When she walked through the door and saw Clint sitting in a chair looking particularly bored, Natasha not far away watching Tony's every move, and neither one looking ready to jump up and kill her, Emily figured she'd be fine.

"Emily!" Darcy cooed, motioning for her to join them. "Come to do our job for us?"

Jane gave Darcy an irritated look but smiled when she met Emily's gaze. Apparently Emily had been forgiven for their earlier encounter which caused a wave of relief to settle in her bones. Jane wasn't exactly intimidating, unlike Natasha, but the thought of getting on the woman's bad side didn't sit well with Emily. Especially since she'd decided, during her research, that she would get along with Jane. Being proven wrong wasn't appreciated nor an option.

'_Science girls have to stick together, right?'_

"So, what're you staring at?" Emily tentatively asked.

Darcy snorted and threw her hands up. "Who knows."

Jane ignored her.

"Still looking at pollution levels?" Emily continued.

Jane sighed but nodded. "I don't get how things could get this bad so quickly." It was said more to herself than Emily but Emily chose to see it as an invitation to peek at the papers and readings scattered on the table.

Noticing her interest Darcy immediately handed her a piece of paper when Emily was close enough. "Okay pollution guru, what's going on?"

Emily laughed before looking at what she had been handed. Her eyebrows crinkled together and she joined Jane in shuffling through the papers and comparing data points.

"This," she mumbled in shock. "This can't be right."

"That's what Tony said," Darcy quipped. "Before he started blaming Jane. Ya know, cause the only reason for the readings would be her breaking his stuff."

Tony heard the sarcasm in Darcy's voice but only snorted in reply: too engrossed in whatever the hell he was doing to reply properly.

"But this means-" Emily stared at the papers completely dumbstruck. "The implications - I mean…" she trailed off and Jane just nodded.

"Our planet's fucked," Darcy shrugged.

Emily was so enthralled in what she was looking at that she didn't notice both Natasha and Clint staring at her, waiting for her to put everything together.

"The pollution level's risen by - at least - 1%." She stared at the data, trying to process what it meant. She even rechecked the time stamp five times before getting irritated and looking up. "Jarvis, bring up the pollution levels for the rest of the world - three charts please," she demanded. "Same charts that I asked for last time but this time add one just for the last eight days alone."

Instantly the requested charts appeared before her and she ran her eyes over them once… twice… a third time before swiping them on top of each other: comparing the increases.

"It seems limited to the United States so far," she murmured. "There's a slight increase everywhere else but not noticeable enough to warrant checking out. But here…" her fingers hovered over the charts relating to America. "Something's definitely going on."

Tony scoffed and she threw him a look.

"I would have thought that you would have figured this out in no time, _Anthony_," she chided.

He gave her a look. She pretended not to see it.

"But what?" Jane sighed, pulling the cousins back to the problem at hand.

"Again, million dollar question." Emily shrugged and offered her a sympathetic half-smile. She might be able to catch on quickly but even _she_ couldn't catch on _that_ fast.

'_I came to New York to watch Tony and go to NYU. Not to be a part of this crazy hero world he's jumped into,_' she groaned. '_I didn't sign up for this._'

Yet, as an avid nature lover, Emily was starting to feel that she had a personal interest in what was happening. This was _her_ planet and she'd be damned if something was going to try to take it from her without a fight.

So when Tony tried to shoo her away - most likely payback for her pointing out he'd missed something big - she scoffed and stood her ground.

"This isn't your problem," he started.

"_Of course not_! I mean, what stake would an aspiring farmer have in keeping the planet clean?" She didn't mean to snap or sound as sarcastic as she did but this wasn't something that only he cared about. If he cared about it at all. For as close as the cousins were there were still times when even Emily had a hard time deciphering his emotions. "This isn't an alien attack, Tony. You're not the only one who can help," she sighed.

Tony opened his mouth but when she gave him the I-dare-you-to-tell-me-no look he closed it. She rarely used that look, especially on Tony, but when she did she always got her way. The last time she had used it on him she had been seven and demanding he teach her to use a blowtorch. It was a look the whole family knew. And feared.

Tony just sighed and waved his hand in submission.

"Besides, you guys obviously need someone who can connect the dots that _isn't_ doting over machines."

"Watch it, Millie."

She scowled at him but let it slide. She sort of deserved that one.

Thus, Emily spent the rest of the day beside Jane and Erik; trying to figure out just what they were facing and if there were any other implications other than the destruction of the planet.

At one point Natasha left to take a phone call - Fury no doubt - but when she came back in she resumed her original position. This time choosing to stare at Emily rather than Tony.

Oddly, it didn't bother Emily as much as she would have thought.

Eventually everyone's stomach began protesting and they had to seek food. Thankfully Pepper had been prepared and when they all filed into the kitchen there was a collective sigh of relief at the already-set table.

Dinner went by fairly well even if slightly awkward. Natasha and Clint kept to themselves for most of it, Banner ducked out after making a plate for himself in order to take some time to relax without anyone present, Jane and Erik continued their conversation from the lab, while Tony, Emily, Darcy, and Pepper managed some small chit chat.

When dinner was over Emily took her leave to go double check her homework had been completed for the next day: having to explain to Darcy more than once that she couldn't help. Emily appreciated the offer and had a hard time not giving in to Darcy's pleading - she greatly enjoyed Darcy's company - but homework wasn't something Darcy could help with nor something Emily typically _needed_ help with. Most importantly, Emily had research to do and she didn't need witnesses.

That uneasy feeling had returned.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Screw the whole schedule thing; I get too excited to really stick to that. I'm going to try to post chapters sometime around the weekend but there may be times when they get posted earlier.

As usual, I have to give a shout-out to all those amazing people who have been so supportive!

**_SweetAssassin_**_: We don't see much of Jane and co. in the movies so I thought it would be sort of fun to bring them in. Not to mention they're also important to the plot. (oops, said too much~)_

**_Sunflower13_**_: I might not own horses but stallions are the bomb! Plus it seemed appropriate for an avid farmgirl. I'm glad you enjoyed the introductions! Gotta admit, as much as I love those three, Clint's subtle introduction in this chapter has to be my personal favorite._

**_LexxHiddleston_**_: Don't worry about it! I'm not horribly confident in my writing or characters so I get a little overly worried when people mention things they're having issues with. Not in a bad way… more like a 'oh god how do I make this better?' way. But it is such a relief to hear you say you're starting to connect with Emily a little more – and I'm glad you enjoyed the intro for Bruce._

**_hdXmagnifique_**_: I'm glad you found the story too! Thor and Loki will definitely be making an appearance but I won't spoil the surprise of when. ;D All I'll say is that there's a few things that have to be attended to before I drop them in~ Unfortunately I have no idea how many chapters there will be in total since I haven't written the entire thing out yet. I'll be sure to let everyone know if/when I do._

**_Heather Tobotua de Cybertron_**_: I cannot tell you how worried I was when I first got your review in my email. But after reading it I have to say it's one of my absolute favorites! Thank you so much for the advice and the positive feedback!_


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